


Comes Falling Down

by NewHampshireGirl



Series: Unconditionally [5]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Drama, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Papa Bear Gibbs, Romance, Team as Family, Whump, mild violence, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-21 18:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7398493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NewHampshireGirl/pseuds/NewHampshireGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would you do when one of your own was in trouble? For team Gibbs they would go to the end of the earth, and then some. When McGee is abducted by someone hellbent on revenge the team finds themselves racing against time to find him. Tony/OC, McGee/Delilah, plenty of Papabear Gibbs. Follows "Heirloom".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the fifth story in the "Unconditionally" verse. Enjoy!

Weakness and fear, they were not going to help him accomplish his mission. He needed to be strong. He needed to be focused.

Pain only served a purpose to remind him what needed to be done. Months had gone by so he could gather his wits and forge a plan. Revenge never worked if one did not have a plan.

Crouched low to the ground, hidden in dense brush that had just recently grown back in thanks to the warm weather returning to Washington, he lined up his prey. Blissfully unaware of the danger they were in, the MCRT went about their work of bagging and tagging evidence, interviewing witnesses and processing the crime scene. This case would be particularly easy for them. He would know, he'd been watching them at crime scenes for almost two years now.

Not every crime scene. When the time permitted it, when there was a place to hide. Like this rural stretch of highway in Virginia where a Navy Petty Officer had lost control of her car and slammed into a tree—his police blotter had thus informed him. _Female victim. Single car. NCIS has been contacted._ He knew without a doubt what team it would be that answered and he wasn't disappointed.

He knew them all by name. Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Senior Field Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Special Agent Timothy McGee—Special Agent Ziva David was gone, replaced by Probationary Agent Eleanor Bishop. But that didn't matter. He was never interested in David anyways. It had always been about DiNozzo and McGee, never more, never less. David's absence and Bishop's addition meant very little to him.

Licking his lips he felt the urge to get it over and done with crest inside of him like a wave. He forced it back down. There were too many witnesses, passing motorists that had seen the accident, not too mention all four federal agents and the State Troopers that had stuck around—were armed.

Patience also went hand and hand with revenge. The time had to be right. It was getting closer he could feel it. He'd known this for a while now. They were weak, vulnerable. Suffered immense loss over the last year. Primed for the kill.

Soon, Special Agent Gibbs would know what it was like to have his son ripped away from him. And he would start by targeting the youngest, the one that reminded him so much of his own son—Timothy McGee.


	2. Old School

Spring had finally come to Washington. After a long and grueling winter Tony DiNozzo was happy to see and feel the sunshine on his face as he made his way through tables at a popular outdoor café. The sun was beginning to set casting a heavenly glow around the patrons, but Tony's eyes were fixated on the beautiful young woman seated by a potted floral arrangement.

Leah Dawson was wearing a ruby red short sleeve dress, which was beginning to blend with the hues of the sunset. Her hair was down, just the way he liked it, tumbling over her slender shoulders, radiant in the sun. Besides her at the table was a well dressed, sophisticated looking older couple, like the ones he remembered gracing his father's house when he was growing up.

Tony had been hoping all day that something would come up at work and he could wiggle his way out of this, but alas, they had closed the case they were working and Tony wasn't needed. So, he changed into something more casual-navy blue polo shirt and jeans, and headed out to meet his girlfriend of five months and her parents. It was while he was weaving his way through the tables and patrons that her eyes found him.

She smiled at him and waved. This movement caused the couple sitting with her to turn and look at him. He suddenly felt vulnerable. When Leah had told him that her parents were coming to town and wanted to meet him, he'd been alright with going out to dinner with them. But now, as their eyes scrutinized him, he felt like running in the opposite direction.

"You can do this, Anthony," he muttered under his breath as he got closer to the table. "You can do this."

Leah stood to greet him with a tender kiss and then took his left hand, turning towards her parents. "Tony, this is my mom, Katherine."

Tony managed to coax one of his charming smiles out for her and took her hand. "Mrs. Dawson, it's hard to believe you had five children-you don't look a day over fifty." He finished his sweet talking of her by planting a chaste kiss on her hand.

Katherine smiled and glanced at her daughter. "Well, he's already more of a gentleman than the last boyfriend we met."

"Mom, really?" Leah snapped. "I thought we agreed to not talk about past boyfriends."

"Katherine, you did promise," her father interrupted, smiling sweetly at his wife. "Leah, are you going to introduce your dear old dad?"

Tony took the hand that was held out to him and shook it. First thing he noticed was that John Dawson had a strong grip. He held himself with authority and confidence and Tony knew immediately he had served in the armed forces. "I wasn't aware that you were in the military, sir. What branch?"

John looked  _almost_ impressed. "Navy. Then again I bet you can spot Navy guys a hundred feet away."

"Well, I have to be able to tell the real ones from the fake ones," Tony said with a grin.

"It would be pretty hard to work for one of NCIS' elite teams and not have that skill, I'd suspect," John challenged.

Tony's mask didn't falter. He grinned, broadly at John and pushed Leah's chair in for her before he took his own. He knew that her father was going to grill him, after all Leah was the youngest of five children and the man had been through three of his daughters bringing distasteful dates to his table before, her sister Norah being the worst offender. Leah had prepped him that her father was going to have a bad opinion of him, even before they met because no one was good enough for his girls. Tony was bond and determined to change that opinion.

Leah looked just as uneasy as Tony felt. She hadn't been this nervous about her parents meeting her boyfriend since high school. Tony was also the first boyfriend that her parents had met in the last three years. She was never with the other ones long enough or never told her parents about them.

John waved their waitress over and ordered a bottle of wine. He smiled, coolly at the young couple. "Leah hasn't told us that much about you, Tony. Where did you go to school?"

"Ohio State," he answered, gently reaching under the table to grab Leah's hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.

"How did you end up here in Washington?"

"Ah, well, kind of a long road trip with a few stops here and there in Illinois, Philly and Baltimore."

Leah saw her father's brow wrinkle in deep thought. He waited until the waitress had come back with the bottle of wine and poured everyone a glass before he spoke again.

John traced the rim of his glass with his finger. "Sounds like you move around a lot, Agent DiNozzo."

Tony took a sip of his wine and shrugged his shoulders. "Just looking for the right place to fit in. I've been in Washington for thirteen years now."

"Washington is where you want to settle down then?" Katherine asked.

"That's the plan," Tony answered honestly.

"So, why has it taken so long for you to do so?" John inquired.

"Daddy!" Leah snapped. "Can we not treat my boyfriend like he's some kind of criminal on trial in your courtroom!"

Tony smiled, gently at her father. "It's alright, sweetheart. He's your father, naturally he's concerned about any man you're dating. And I don't mind answering that question. The truth is, haven't found the right girl yet, Mr. Dawson. For a while I just gave up looking altogether. It was just easier being on my own."

Katherine offered him a supportive look and smile. "John, you need to stop looking at Tony like he is one of Norah's boyfriends. He isn't some tattooed, pot smoking hippy. And Leah's right, stop treating him like he's some scum who waltzes into your courtroom that you pass judgment down on."

"I'm used to being questioned on the stand, Mrs. Dawson," Tony said, good-naturedly. "And I don't have any tattoos or smoke pot."

His bravado ended the line of questioning, or at least the tough ones. They talked about his time at Ohio State playing football, basketball and they talked about his father getting married, the wedding that was set for the fall. Leah's upcoming trip to Egypt was also discussed and John was happy to know that Tony was just as nervous about her going over there as he was.

It wasn't until dinner was over and dessert ordered, that the tough line of questions began again. Although this time John waited until his wife and daughter were in the bathroom to start. Tony was prepared for it though, he could see the look in John's eyes change the moment Katherine and Leah left the table.

John pushed his empty wine glass aside. "Are you going to break my daughter's heart?"

"Don't plan on it, sir."

"They all say that at some point."

"I love her," Tony assured him.

John didn't look too convinced. "Katherine and Leah might not be worried about your age difference, but I am. Why hasn't a man with a successful job, good looks, not settled down yet? Seems rather suspicious does it not? Like perhaps he has commitment issues and when things start to get too serious he's going to split."

Tony set his jaw. "Because I'm a man that's changed in the last year- a lot. And your daughter has been a huge part of that. Yes, I was afraid of commitment in the past but this time I've faced those fears. I love her very much."

"You'll have to forgive me if I'm having trouble believing you."

"I guess I'll just have to work harder to prove it to you."

Leah placed her hand on his shoulder then as she came back to the table and sat down. She kissed his cheek lovingly and smiled. Tony smiled back at her. He knew that it was going to take a fight to prove to her father just how much he loved her, but he figured he'd fought once for her already, he could do it again.

* * *

He preferred old school film over digital. There was just something nostalgic about negatives and red lights and developing the art you had created.

In the water now he watched as his picture came to life. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo looked calm and relaxed while he walked down a local street in Georgetown, his hand tightly entwined with that of a beautiful young woman's. He hadn't bothered to learn her name, after all she wasn't apart of the plan.

Clipping the photograph up to dry, he stepped back and looked at the latest gallery hanging on a close line. Soon they would join the others on his wall, chronicling the life of this team of agents over the last two years. He could tell you how many dates they'd been on, when family had come to visit, when they had left Washington for the job. It was all presented in a photographic history throughout his apartment.

Soon that photographic history was going to be complete with the demise of the MCRT.

 


	3. Long Week

Timing was everything. In order to extract his plan his timing had to be perfect. There was no room for error because time would not be on his side if he did make errors.

He intensified his surveillance of the agents. Followed them closely around the entire city as they went about their lives that weekend. He learned that Ellie Bishop and her husband liked to have Sunday brunch, that Tim McGee visited his sister every Saturday and that Tony DiNozzo was going through the pains of being introduced to the parents of his new girlfriend.

None of them knew he was there. He made sure of this. He kept his distance and just out sight. Although he could sense that DiNozzo knew something was amiss. He was looking over his shoulder more than ever, eyes searching but never finding his stalker.

He was going to have to be more careful around DiNozzo. His senses were highly attuned and always on alert.

It only backed up the decision to go after McGee first. DiNozzo would be onto him. In order to finish the senior field agent he was going to have to be emotionally compromised and to emotionally compromise DiNozzo, he was going to have to go straight for the jugular. Snuffing the life out of the man's partner of eleven years would be the perfect backdrop to end the senior field agent's own life. With the downfall of his two agents, Gibbs would have to live with his guilt for the rest of his living days.

A price that was fitting for a man that believed he could play God and get away with it.

* * *

"You're in early," Ellie noted on Monday when she saw Tony seated at his desk.

"I needed to get away from the vulture named John Dawson," Tony said, softly, not looking up from his case reports.

Ellie sat down at her own desk, flipped open her laptop to boot it up, and smiled. "Oh. You met the parents, huh?"

Tony sighed and looked at her, not amused. "Yes. And I spent my entire weekend being as charming and pleasant as I could possibly be and the man still hates me-with a passion."

"You know, my father didn't exactly fall in love with Jake at first," Ellie pointed out. "Give Leah's father time."

"How long did it take for your dad to warm up to your husband?"

"I don't know. Maybe a couple years after we were married. It just sort of happened."

Tony groaned, maybe a bit too over-dramatically and lowered his head to his desk. "I was afraid you'd say something like that."

Ellie rolled her eyes playfully. "What's the big deal? You aren't the first guy to have to deal with overprotective fathers. Listen, the more you stick around and put up with him, the more he's going to see you're serious about his daughter. And, hey, how often are you going to have to see him anyways?"

"Right now-the next two weeks," Tony lamented. "Apparently, her parents wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before her trip this summer."

"Could be worse-they could be moving down here," Ellie offered up with a smile.

"Bite your tongue," Tony growled, snapping his head up to glare at her good-naturedly.

Ellie just continued to smile and went about her work, opening up her bottom drawer where her partners always seemed to keep her stocked up on snacks. She found a bag of cookies and opened them.

Tony went back to his case reports. He really liked how Bishop didn't push him or tease him relentlessly just to hurt his feelings. It was true the team was different without Ziva, but he was finding that he rather liked this new dynamic and he didn't want it to change. There was a level of respect between all the agents, which had been lacking in the last couple of years. He wasn't sure why that had happened, maybe they had just gotten so comfortable with one another that they let things slide more easily. Since Ellie had joined the team Tony had noticed the difference, he noticed that she was eager to learn from him or McGee, that Gibbs seemed  _softer_ with her around.

Ziva leaving had been a catalyst for change that he had not even be aware they needed until recently.

"Oh, good," McGee chimed happily as he entered the squad room. "You survived meeting Leah's parents."

"Barely," Tony muttered. "And they're here for another two weeks."

"Lucky you."

"Yes,  _lucky_ me."

McGee chuckled and put his gear down. He booted up his computer. As he sat down he noticed that the monitor's resolution was slightly off, like it had been adjusted for someone with less than perfect eye sight. "Odd."

Tony saw the confused expression on McGee's face. "What's odd?"

"Someone messed with my screen resolution."

"How do you even know that?"

"Because it was slightly blurry."

"Maybe it's your eye sight. You're not as McYoung as you used to be."

McGee glared slightly at his senior partner. "I know I didn't mess with my settings before I left on Friday. Is this your idea of a prank? Because if it is, this is lame even for you, Tony."

Tony chuckled. "Wasn't me. I left before you on Friday remember?"

Ellie frowned at him, lost in thought. "Maybe you hit a button or something on your way out Friday? Or the cleaning staff?"

"Or maybe it was Abby. She always thinks she's helping me but she really isn't making my computer faster," McGee replied fixing the resolution on his screen. "There, that's better."

"Glad you got that all cleared up, Tim," Tony teased, grinning. "We wouldn't want you worrying about your resolution all day."

"Nope," Gibbs said blowing into the bullpen, coffee cup in hand, "not when he's got a dead petty officer to worry about. Gear up!"

Tony, Ellie, and McGee jumped to their feet, grabbing their gear. "Where are we going, boss?" Tony asked, leading the other two agents out of the bullpen behind Gibbs.

Gibbs got into the elevator. "Downtown. Bar fight got a little bit out of hand last night."

McGee and Tony groaned. Ellie looked at them questionably and Tony explained for her, "Sailors are on liberty this week."

"Which means what exactly?" Ellie asked.

"Which means," Tony countered, "that we're going to be dealing with a lot of drunk sailors."

McGee sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "It's going to be a long week."

* * *

It took them all of an hour to close the case. Petty Officer William Moore died from blunt force trauma to the head that he had sustained during a brawl at a local bar with two of his shipmates. The two sailors responsible had been cuffed, arrested, and brought into NCIS for booking.

While he was on his way back from booking them, Tony was stopped by one of the security guards. "Hey, DiNozzo," he said, jogging to catch up to the federal agent. "Thought you'd like to know that Tommy chased a night janitor away from your desk last night. Caught him poking around through your drawers."

"Really? What does Tommy think he was looking for?" Tony asked. He wasn't concerned. He kept things of value locked in a box.

"Wasn't sure really. When he was caught he made up some lame excuse and Tommy sent him on his way," the guard said with a shrug. "I had Tommy file a report and follow up with the head of maintenance. I'll let you know what happens."

Tony thanked him and got into the elevator. He hit the button for his floor and rode it up in silence, pondering why someone would be snooping around his desk. Of course the obvious answer was that the janitor was probably short for cash and looking for money, but there was something else tugging at his gut. Especially since McGee mentioned that his computer screen had been messed around with.

And just like Gibbs, Tony did not believe in coincidences. So, when he made his way back to his desk, he called up security footage deciding that now that he had the time, he was going to get to the bottom of this.


	4. Change of Plans

Combing through four hours of security footage, Tony learned a few interesting things. Their mystery janitor had stopped by every night that week, looking through each of their desks, turning on their computers and flipping through their case files.

Tony was a bit startled that the janitor had only been caught once. But seeing how he never came back at the same time every night, it stood reason to believe that he'd worked around the guards. Now, the question was _who_ was he?The footage didn't clearly show his face and he was wearing a legit janitor's uniform, complete with key card.

Abby was running facial recognition on the grainy photo that Tony had managed to pull from the footage but both of them knew that it was probably a lost cause.

So after lunch, Tony made his way down to maintenance to speak to the department head, Jerry.

"Hey DiNozzo," Jerry greeted with a smile. He was a pot-bellied, middle-aged man who was happy to oblige you. "What's up?"

"Can you tell me the name of this man?" Tony said, holding up the photograph.

Jerry narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer to look at it. "Looks like Howard. But the photo's blurry so I can't be sure."

Tony pocketed the photo and crossed his arms. "What can you tell me about Howard?"

"Ah, hired him a few weeks ago. Seemed like a nice chap. Quiet. Does his job well. Why? He given you trouble?"

"Sure it's just a misunderstanding," Tony said with a shake of his head.

Jerry frowned. "I already promised Tommy that I would speak to him about going through your desks. He'll be given a warning and if it happens again, I'll fire him."

Tony waved his hand in dismissal. "Nothing was missing. Maybe he was just curious to see what we kept in our desks. I just need his address so I can go and chat with him. Can you get that for me?"

"Of course, just giving me a second," Jerry said, opening a filing cabinet to rifle through some papers. "Hope this isn't keeping you from something important."

"Nope. Just some rowdy, drunk sailors on liberty. I'm going to be dealing with those all week," Tony said with a chuckle.

Jerry grinned at him and pulled out a file, he wrote the address down onto a piece of paper and handed it to Tony. "Here you go, DiNozzo. Hope this helps. And again, I apologize if Howard caused you guys any trouble."

Tony took the piece of paper and tipped his head in thanks. He headed back towards the elevator and got inside. Pulling out his phone he quickly texted McGee that he had to take care of something and that he was taking an early lunch. He knew that this was probably nothing really and he didn't feel like he was in any danger; just that something was...off.

He'd actually felt like something was off all weekend. At first he had attributed that to being drilled by Leah's father, but now he was wondering if this janitor snooping around his desk had something to do with it. Maybe it was his petulance to go to that bad place automatically, but this couldn't possibly be more than simple, petty theft, could it? Although, the thief hadn't taken anything which was sending off the alarms in Tony's head.

Leah often told him that he always went to the worst case scenario first. But he couldn't help it, it was a part of his training, what made him a good agent. As he made his way towards his car he'd rather look like a fool when this did pan out to be nothing than to be dead.

* * *

Parked outside of Howard's apartment building, he watched as Tony DiNozzo's navy blue sedan pulled up.

After being caught snooping around the agent's desk last night he knew that DiNozzo would be led here. He wouldn't let it go that someone was looking through his things. It was a reminder that one had to be more cautious. He had become careless and he could not be careless in this mission. He wasn't worried though.

This minor bump just meant he had to change the plan. It meant that he had to act sooner than he had originally wanted too.

DiNozzo got out of the car and pulled his black suit coat tight to his body. He looked around casually, his green eyes scanning the scenery for anything out of the ordinary. When it was clear that everything was as it should be, DiNozzo turned on his heel and made his way inside.

With the field agent inside, he decided it was time to go. Starting his own car up, he headed out into the sunshine, confident that it was time to begin ruining the lives of those that had ruined his.

* * *

"You're wasting your time," a voice said at the end of the hall, "No one has seen Howard in about three weeks."

"Can you tell me where he went?" Tony asked, pulling out his credentials and showing them to the neighbor.

"Don't know. But he really needs to take his trash out," the neighbor said. "Neighbors have been complaining of the smell."

_That isn't the smell of trash,_ Tony thought as he glanced at the man. "Are you the building manager?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah. NCIS? Never heard of you. Howard in some kind of trouble?"

Tony pocketed his credentials and narrowed his eyes. "I just need to clear up a misunderstanding. Do you think you could let me into his apartment?"

"Don't you need a warrant for that?"

"Listen, neighbors have been complaining about the smell. As building manager isn't it your job to go in and find out what it is?"

For a moment it looked like the building manager wasn't going to give in to him, but then he pushed past Tony and stuck the keys in the lock, opening up the apartment. The rancid smell was even stronger now that the door was open. Tony pulled his suit coat over his nose as he stepped inside the apartment. "Jesus, what does this guy eat that his trash stinks like dead animals?" the building manager squawked, keeping a safe distance behind Tony.

Tony took in his surroundings. There were unopened bills and old newspapers on the coffee table. A mountain of dishes was stacked in the sink, reeking of rotting food. As he made his way into the hall he found the real cause for the smell, in the form of a decaying, twisted body. Howard, by Tony's estimate had been dead for three weeks. His skull had been bashed in and blood had pooled and dried underneath his head.

"Oh my God!" the building manager cried out. "No wonder no one's seen him!"

"Yeah," Tony mumbled, pulling out his cell phone. "No wonder."

" _DiNozzo,"_ Gibbs barked. " _Where the hell are you? McGee said you had something personal to take care of?"_

Tony frowned and looked down at the body in front of him. "Got a body for us, boss."

Gibbs sighed. " _Aw, hell, DiNozzo, you didn't kill Leah's father did you? Heard it was a rough weekend."_

"What? No! Leah's father is still alive and still hating me! Trust me!"

" _Text me the address."_

"Wait? You aren't going to ask me anymore questions?"

Gibbs chuckled. " _Figured you'd answer all of them when I get there."_

Tony heard the distinct click as Gibbs hung up. He put his phone away and pondered this strange turn of events. If Howard had been dead for at least three weeks, who the hell had taken the job at NCIS?


	5. Intentions

Gibbs found Tony waiting outside the apartment of NCIS' night janitor Howard Phillips. "Care to fill me in?"

Tony sighed and glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the team heading into the apartment. "Security guard approached me earlier today and said that a janitor had been caught snooping around my desk," he answered. "When I looked deeper into it I learned about Howard. Came here to chat with him because something just felt...off. But...guess that was because the janitor that was hired is not the same guy that was snooping around my desk."

"Have any idea who it was?" Gibbs asked.

"Abby was attempting to run facial recognition on footage I pulled from security tapes," Tony replied.

"So, when was the last time the real Howard left his apartment?"

"No one is sure, exactly, but by the smell of him I'd say three weeks ago."

Gibbs frowned. "Obviously he doesn't have a criminal record or he wouldn't have been hired at NCIS. So? What are we looking at here?"

Tony matched Gibbs dark look. "Someone that needed an  _in_ to NCIS. Access to the team."

Something about the tone of voice that Tony used when saying that made the hair on the back of Gibbs' neck stand on end. He thought back to that night in Tony's apartment, several months ago, when Leah had asked  _Do you guys automatically go to the worst case scenario?_ It hadn't gotten to that point yet but certainly it could get there given the killer's intentions.

Gibbs led the way into the apartment building and up the stairs, finding McGee, Bishop, Ducky, and Palmer hard at work. "Got a time of death for me Duck?"

"Well, I'd say given the level of decay-at least a couple of weeks, Jethro," Ducky replied.

"Cause of death?"

"Shot, point blank in the back of the head. Bullet is mostly likely lodged in his skull."

Tony looked down at the now decaying face of a man whose identity had been stolen, for what purposes remained to be unseen. This day had taken a dark turn from the drunken sailors they had dealt with earlier. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he glanced down at it, only to see Leah's photo flash across the screen. He winced before he stepped away from the body and answered, "Hi, I'm kind of busy right now. Is everything alright?"

Leah let out an angry huff of air. " _My mother is_ nuts. _"_

"I'm going to need a bit more here, sweetheart."

" _She had the nerve to go through my cabinets to make sure I was taking my birth control!"_

"Oh, well, I'm sure she's just concerned about...you know... any unwanted pregnancies."

" _Anthony, she counted how many condoms were missing from the box."_

Tony closed his eyes and inwardly groaned. He'd completely forgotten about that box in her nightstand. He'd meant to sweep it out of sight out of mind before her parents had arrived but he'd, well he'd been distracted by the very woman who was the reason he had them in the first place. "I'm sorry. I meant...I meant to hide those. Listen...she's just...she's being a mom."

Leah sighed, annoyed. _"She's treating me like I'm sixteen all over again! I am not sixteen! I am a thirty-two year old woman who has a boyfriend and is sleeping with him! If she only knew half of what my sister does-or who she does-she'd puke!"  
_

"I'd like to say I understand this...but truth is, I don't. My dad...he never cared if I has having sex as a teen, not going to care now."

_"Consider yourself lucky. And no, the pun was not intended."_

Tony chuckled to himself and glanced over his shoulder at the team working. "You just have to survive two weeks with them, Leah. Then your parents will be going back to Boston and we'll have a few days to ourselves before you have to leave for Cairo."

Leah was silent for a moment. _"Surviving them is easier said than done. Especially since they seem so invested in my love life."_

"Maybe they just want more grandbabies."

_"Maybe you should bite your tongue because we are no where near ready for that."_

"Are you saying that someday we will be?"

" _Yes. Someday we will be."_

Tony couldn't help the small smile that formed across his features. He forgot completely that he was at a crime scene because she had just given him the first, true sign that she saw the same things for them as he did. Suddenly he felt a presence behind him and he turned, slightly intimidated, to find Gibbs standing very close to him. "I...I have to go, Leah. I'll see you tonight for dinner."

Leah let out a deep breath. " _Thanks for letting me bitch. I feel better. I love you."_

"I love you too," Tony said before hanging up. He put his phone away. "Hey boss."

"Are you going to join us, DiNozzo?"

"Ah, yes, boss."

"Good. Hate to fire you while your girlfriend's parents are in town."

* * *

Leah felt slightly better after having talked to Tony on the phone, but not by much.

Her mother had always been nosy. Searching their rooms when they were younger for drugs, or alcohol, or signs that they were having sex. She'd caught Katherine several times as a teen going through her room. Back then she had always told herself that it would only be a few more years before she moved out and was on her own. Now, she wasn't sure how to explain her mother being so damn interested in her sex life.

She knew that this visit from her parents was going to be no walk in the park, but she didn't think it was going to be this bad. Her father had immediately began to harp on the age difference between her and Tony, and her mother was more concerned about her daughter getting pregnant out of wedlock than if she was happy. No wonder Norah had rebelled at such a young age and continued to defy her parents. Image was obviously everything to them. It had been since she was a little girl.

Flopping down onto her bed she stared at the ceiling. After fighting with her mother about her intimate relationship with Tony, she had locked herself in her room.

It was probably childish of her but she needed the time to calm down. By the time she felt calm enough to reemerge it was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon.

Her father had gone golfing with a political friend of his and her mother was sitting in the living room reading. Leah was surprised she wasn't snooping around her book selves.

"So, you decided to come out and join me," Katherine said, not looking up from her book. "For a moment I thought you were sixteen again."

"You treat me like I am," Leah snapped.

Katherine slammed her book shut and looked at her daughter, firmly for a moment. "Your father and I are just concerned about you. It isn't like you've had a good track record with men before, now is it?"

Leah balled her hands up into fists. "So, because you got it right the first time means I'm supposed to get it right too?"

"You let a perfectly good relationship slip away from you."

"Oh, you mean Scott? The man that many have picked to be next in line to take Daddy's old job at the firm?"

"Scott came from a respectable, Boston family. Honestly Leah, it's bad enough that Norah spites us. Now you're going to start?"

Leah rolled her eyes and turned away from her mother. She made her way into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine.  _It's five o'clock somewhere._ "Tony is  _nothing_ like Norah's boyfriends. You said so yourself at dinner the other night."

Katherine joined Leah in the kitchen. "I'm not saying that Tony is not a charming, delightful man. He is. I liked him very much. I'm just...not sold...on what kind of life he can give you."

"Tony makes a comfortable salary if that's what you're worried about."

"No, no of course not. But a federal agent...long hours...dangerous cases...just...there's no stability in that."

"So, you're telling me that all this...is because you're afraid he's going to get killed on the job...and leave me?"

Katherine looked at her daughter, sadly. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Leah downed the rest of her wine. "Mom, I'm very much aware of the risks that come with Tony's job. And I think it's unfair that you're using his job against him. He's doing his damn hardest to keep  _us_ safe. And love...love is all about taking risks! Yes! I worry that one of those days the phone is going to ring and...and it's going to be NCIS telling me that Tony's gone. But...you and Daddy always taught me...never to live in fear."

She didn't give her mother any time to respond to her. She grabbed her jacket and keys and stormed out of the apartment. She needed to get away for a while, needed some fresh air. She needed to see Tony.

* * *

From a distance she didn't look like a professor. He watched as Leah Dawson crossed the street in front of her apartment building and headed towards the Metro station.

She was dressed casual in jeans, a tee-shirt, white boat shoes, and an olive-green blazer. Her long, honey colored hair was down, flowing in waves down her shoulder blades. He'd taken an interest in her that weekend, when he'd noticed that DiNozzo was spending a lot of time with her and an older couple.

He'd recognized John Dawson, United States Federal Court Judge, immediately. His photo had been in all the papers recently thanks to a high-profile serial killer case in Boston. It had not taken him long to learn the identity of the young woman that had been dating DiNozzo. He wasn't sure if she fit into the plan just yet. But...if DiNozzo gave him any trouble he realized that  _she_ would be his leverage.

 


	6. Five Months

Tony managed to sneak out of NCIS and met Leah at  _Capital Coffeehouse._ He knew from her second phone call that the afternoon wasn't getting any better for her.

Leah looked torn between screaming and crying. She barely touched the pastry she'd ordered and stared blankly into the distance. Tony was beginning to wonder what his purpose in all this was.

"So, I take it it's not going well with your mother?" Tony finally ventured to ask.

"She doesn't think...she doesn't think you're right for me."

Tony felt the sting of this comment hit him hard. He knew that he wasn't her father's favorite, but he'd at least thought he'd won her mother over. He glanced away. "Oh. I see."

Leah reached out and wrapped her arm through his, pressing her shoulder into his own. "Tony, she doesn't know a thing, okay? She doesn't know that you take care of me and treat me right. She just...she just worries that you can't provide me with a stable life because...because of your job. I know the risks you take as an agent. I understand them and I love you despite of them. She...she just needs to get over herself."

He stared at his coffee cup. He wasn't sure how to prove to the Dawsons that he loved their daughter, would do anything for her. Yes, he knew that the dangers of his job, well, that didn't provide a very stable life for loved ones, but, didn't he deserve to be happy just as much as the next guy? "So, now what?" he whispered.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's obvious that your parents don't see us as having a future."

"Really? What do they know?"

Tony chuckled, sadly. "They've been married for over forty years. I'd say they know more than us."

Leah pressed her cheek into his shoulder. "I don't care. I don't care what they think. It's not up to them to choose who I want to spend my life with."

"Doesn't stop them from trying, though," Tony pointed out.

"No," Leah sighed, sitting up. "I know...I know they mean well."

Tony reached out and pushed the stray pieces of hair from her eyes. He smiled at her, gently. "They aren't going to push me away, sweetheart. Promise."

Leah returned the smile, instantly feeling better, because that was her fear, that her mother and father would run Tony from her life forever. "It doesn't bother you that my father doesn't like you and that my mother thinks you're not right for me?"

"Nope. They just need more time to get to know me. You'll see," Tony promised her. "Everything is going to work out fine."

* * *

Several hours after the MCRT had processed the scene at Howard Applegate's apartment and gotten no where closer to finding out who had killed him, Tim noticed that his SFA was quiet. It always concerned him when Tony was quiet, because it just wasn't in his nature. He knew that his partner was concerned about the impostor snooping through their things and was probably the man responsible for killing Howard, but NCIS had nothing, and therefore had handed the case to Metro.

In fact, Tony had been withdrawn since sneaking off to have coffee with Leah that afternoon. Tim was aware that her parents visiting was not going well. But at least her parents seemed invested in her future. Since Delilah had been paralyzed he very rarely heard from his mother and spent even less time with his sister. He didn't blame them. They had always been a family that handled their personal lives privately. Sometimes, he just wished they were more interested in what was going on in his life besides the job.

Tony had barely spoken since coming back from that coffee break. Gibbs didn't press him but Tim knew the lead agent was aware that something was on the senior field agent's mind. Was it possible that Tony was questioning his entire relationship with Leah?

Looking around the abandoned bullpen, Tim determined that the two men were the only ones who had not left for the night. "You okay, Tony?"

"Yes," Tony said, looking up from his report, "why do you ask?"

"You're awfully quiet," Tim pointed out. "Which is not like you."

Tony pursed his lips together and thoughtfully looked across the bullpen at Ellie's empty desk. She had left over an hour ago to have some fancy dinner with her husband and the boys had been alone since. "Been thinking about something—guess it's overrunning my mind tonight."

Normally, Tim would be concerned about a statement like this but ever since Ziva David had departed—Tony had been doing a lot of thinking and statements like this didn't really startle Tim that much anymore. "Oh, yeah, what are you thinking about? Can I help?"

Through the dim light Tony looked at him seriously. "Can I show you something, Tim?"

"Sure. Anything. Ok, well maybe not  _anything,_ " Tim replied, cautiously. Even if Tony had changed a lot in the last year, he was still Tony.

Tony grinned and opened the bottom drawer of his desk, the one where he kept all of Gibbs' medals and honors that the former marine refused to accept. He pulled out the metal box and set it down onto his desk. Tim watched as he unlocked it and flipped it open carefully. What he wanted was right on top of all the medals and he quickly had it in his possession. He stood, straightened his blazer and made his way towards his partner's desk.

Tim could see that he had a little box clutched in his hand. His curiosity was peaked. It was clearly a jewelry box of some kind. Tim knew that Tony was pretty serious about his current girlfriend but he hadn't realized it had gotten so serious that he was buying her jewelry.

Stopping at Tim's desk, Tony nervously glanced around the room and then he set his green eyes on his partner. "Before I show you this you have to promise me something."

"Okay. What?"

"You don't tell anyone else, got it?"

"Fine. It will remain between us."

Tony took a deep breath and popped the box open. Glittering in the low light of the bullpen was a princess cut diamond, adorned with sapphires, nestled in a band of white gold with intricate details—reminding Tim of his grandmother's engagement ring from the 1930s'.

"It's a beautiful ring. Another family heirloom?" Tim guessed.

"Yeah. My dad gave it to me when he was here in February," Tony answered. "It was my grandmother's. He gave it to my mom. He wanted me to have it to carry on the tradition."

Tim suddenly felt the room spin in front of him as took in the implications of that statement. Was Tony thinking of proposing? Tony? The man who only a year ago had believed that a serious commitment was a long weekend? He was looking at Tim expectantly but the younger man wasn't sure what to say. "W-wow," he blurted, "Are you… are you going to propose to Leah?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders and looked at the ring. "I've been thinking about it; given it consideration. Actually, given it serious consideration and I know what you're thinking. It's only been five months. But we can have a long engagement, right?"

_Funny, that didn't even cross my mind._ "And? What are you going to do?" Tim asked. "Are you going to ask her?"

"Yeah. I am."

"Seriously?"

"Yes! Seriously!"

Tim shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Sorry, Tony. It's just…wow. I mean…you…you of all people. Figured you'd be a permanent bachelor your whole life."

Tony smiled and held the ring up in the dim light. "Now, promise me you want say anything, Timmy. I still haven't asked her dad yet for permission."

"Didn't take you for the traditional type, Tony."

"Well, Daddy Dawson isn't exactly fond of his baby girl dating someone ten years older than her."

Tim frowned as Gibbs blew back into the bullpen. The former marine looked at the ring in Tony's hand and he paused, eyes searching the senior field agent's. "Are you finally going to give it to her?"

"Yeah," Tony replied. "I am."

"About damn time DiNozzo."

"Should I take that as a  _congrats,_ boss?"

"No time to celebrate yet. Got a case."

"Aw, seriously?" Tony whined.

Gibbs was grabbing his weapon and badge. He still had a smirk on his face. "Were you planning on popping the big question tonight?"

Tony shook his head. "No boss. I would think you of all people would know that there are a lot of details and planning that go hand and hand with a proposal." Gibbs shot him a look. "Of course, those proposals were very many years ago and things might have changed a bit since then."

"DiNozzo."

"Sorry boss. Shutting up."

"McGee, call Bishop," Gibbs ordered. "Go pick her up and then meet us at the crime scene."

Tim nodded his head. "Got it boss."

Gibbs gestured towards Tony. "Let's go, Romeo."

Tony shoved the ring back into the box, locked it, and stowed it in his drawer, slamming it shut before he left. He quickly gathered up his things and high tailed it out of the bullpen after Gibbs. In a flash he was gone, yelling, "On your six, boss!"

* * *

It was now or never. Their guards were down because of the late hour. He knew he had to strike before Metro closed in on him, before Abby Sciuto finally recognized him in that blurry security photo.

He'd gathered all the information he needed. He knew their strengths and their weaknesses and he was fully prepared to use all of them against the agents. He got out of the sailor's car he'd stolen after killing him. Pulling his the hood of his black sweatshirt over his head he followed the lone agent through the garage.

There was no turning back now. For any of them.

 


	7. Fruition

All the studying, all the planning—all that time. It had finally come to fruition.

The old, beaten up pick-up truck that he'd picked his son up from school all those years ago rumbled across the countryside. Rain was driving hard against the windshield making the trip slower and more painstaking then he would have liked, but it would be  _weeks_  before Agent Gibbs and the rest of his team figured out where he'd taken their friend and colleague.

By then it would be too late. Timothy McGee would be gone. Far beyond their reach. He'd take the older one next. He'd revel in the fear and pain in Anthony DiNozzo's eyes as he realized that he was about to die. Then, and only then, revenge would be done. It would be complete. He would have taken Leroy Jethro Gibbs' boys from him. Show him what it was like to lose not just one son, but two.

Double the pain for the agent that had inflicted so much pain upon him. It only served him right.

* * *

Tony felt physically ill to his stomach. Like at any moment he was going to vomit whatever he'd eaten for dinner all over the pristine carpet.

He  _knew_ that something wasn't right about someone snooping around their desks and impersonating someone else to get a job at NCIS. It was the whole reason he had investigated it in the first place. And now, now Tim was going to pay the price for them shrugging their shoulders and handing the investigation of Howard's death off to Metro.

_We should have kept digging,_ Tony thought angrily.  _Why didn't we keep digging? WHY?_

Obvious signs of trouble didn't show up until the crime scene, when Gibbs told him to wrap up his work and then track down what happened to the rest of his team. McGee had never shown up with Ellie at the playground that the body of Petty Officer Collins had been found at.

Immediately Tony felt his gut screaming but he had tried to talk himself down, citing stress from the weekend with Leah's parents, exhaustion because it had been a long day, but when Tim didn't answer his cell phone he couldn't argue with the dread anymore. Ellie confirmed his fears. McGee had  _never_ called her to come pick her up. She had no idea that the team had a case. Tim's backpack had been found in the garage, along with his discarded, smashed cell phone, and his car was gone.

Now, Tony stood in the bullpen, feeling like someone was twisting a knife in his gut. "Footage shows McGee heading towards his car," he reported, the remote tightly in his grasp. "He's then approached from behind."

Bishop and Gibbs watched on the screen as a man, clad in black jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt struck McGee on the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. He then pulled a syringe from his pocket and injected the fallen federal agent with something. The trio watched as their suspect pried the keys for the Charger from McGee's hand and unlocked the car.

Tony sighed, heavily, as the footage continued on to show the suspect throwing McGee into the back of the car and then taking off with it. "I've put a BOLO out for the missing Charger. Nothing's come back yet. Director Vance wants us to hand the investigation over to the FBI."

"Like hell I'm going to do that," Gibbs snarled. "My people, my case."

"Boss, missing federal agent isn't our jurisdiction," Tony reminded him.

Gibbs shot him a glare. Tony didn't back down. It was one of the qualities that Gibbs had always admired in Tony—the ability to know when to fight or when to back down. At the moment though, he wasn't sure he entirely agreed with DiNozzo that it was time to fight.

Tony, on the other hand, apparently did feel that way. "I already called Fornell. He's meeting with Director Vance as we speak."

"Son of a bitch, DiNozzo!" Gibbs spat. "What were you thinking!"

"About Tim," Tony answered, softly. "Rule ten, boss. The one we both struggle with."

Gibbs realized that his senior field agent had him. There was no way to argue with his own rules and both men knew it was the truth. In good conscience they could not investigate this case because they could not personally detach themselves. "Petty Officer Collins," he stated, signaling a change of subject.

Tony nodded his head and clicked the remote. A photograph of the young man whose body had been discovered in a playground appeared on the screen. Tony nodded slightly at Bishop, encouraging her to report.

Bishop took a deep breath. "Petty Officer Collins was on forty-eight hour liberty from the  _Seahawk_. He has no criminal record. Superior officers spoke highly of him. He was recommended for a promotion just two weeks ago."

"Ducky pulled some prints from the body. He sent them up to Abby," Tony reported, his voice still thick, husky. "Palmer is staying with her," he added as an after thought.

"Witnesses saw a man leaving the park in an old pick-up truck," Bishop reported. "They didn't get a good look at him. Just that he was wearing all black."

Gibbs' face paled ever so slightly. "DiNozzo. Bring the footage of McGee's abduction up."

Tony blinked, confused and then pressed the button. The three agents watched the footage over again. At the end Tony paused and cursed. "Same guy."

Bishop looked at the two men. "Wait? How can you be certain? It could just be coincidence that they're both wearing black!"

Gibbs didn't say a word. Instead he turned on his heel and made his way up the stairs like a bat of out hell towards Vance's office. Bishop turned back towards Tony, looking even more confused. Tony merely offered her a tight smile, "In the immortal words of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs— _I don't believe in coincidences._ "

* * *

Senior FBI Agent Tobias Fornell was not surprised when the door to Leon Vance's office flew open and Gibbs was standing there. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"Whoever took McGee is responsible for killing Petty Officer Collins," Gibbs snapped, eyeing Leon across the room. "Like it or not Director, these two cases are linked."

"You have proof of this?" Fornell asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gibbs turned his heated glare on his friend. "My gut."

Fornell grinned, tensely, "Well in that case—."

"Tobias! Don't patronize me!" Gibbs shouted. "One of my people is missing! Abducted! And I'm going to do everything I can to get him back alive!"

"Fine, easy there, Jethro," Fornell said, standing. He straightened his suit coat. "I was just about to suggest a joint operation. FBI has point. You bring what you find in your dead Petty Officer's case to us—we bring you what we find in McGee's case to you."

Gibbs sighed, heavily. It wasn't the best situation. But, it was better than being on the outside looking in. He looked briefly at Vance, seated quietly at his desk, hands folded in front of him. Vance simply nodded his head. Gibbs looked back towards Fornell. "Fine. I can live with that."

Fornell looked at him sternly. "You're gonna have too, Jethro. Missing federal agent is FBI territory. I don't want you to get McGee killed because you flew off the handle."

All the anger deflated from the marine. Gibbs took a steadying breath. His team had been through hell the last few years and they had just started to get back on their feet since Ziva had left. Could they really sustain the loss of another agent? Would Tony be able to handle losing his probie? Gibbs hated to think of the pain that losing McGee would inflict upon Tony—he cared for both his agents like they were his sons, but especially Tony. "I'm counting on you, Tobias," he whispered.

"I know," Fornell said, a tone of understanding in his voice. "We're gonna get McGee back. Promise."

"I gave up on promises a long time ago, Tobias," Gibbs snarled before throwing the door open and leaving with a slam. He had work to do.

 


	8. Personal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half way through this one folks! Hope you are enjoying it :)

By three o'clock that morning they had pretty much nothing concerning Petty Officer Collins' murder.

Tony and Ellie kept pushing every lead that they could muster. They'd spoken with Collins' fellow sailors, which proved to be difficult because most of them were still drunk, and they had chatted with Collins' older sister on the phone, who could offer nothing that they already didn't know. Ethan Collins just did not have enemies that would harm him.

It was becoming more obvious that Collins had been collateral damage, to draw the team out so Tim's abductor could take him. Gibbs was about ready to explode and Ellie, never having seen the team leader like this, didn't know how to react around him. Tony did his best to absorb most of his anger but it was getting harder the longer the night wore on.

His head was pounding, matching the rhythmic drone of the elevator as it lowered towards autopsy. Tony wanted coffee or painkillers or sleep-anything to get the headache to disappear.

"Gibbs wants to know if you're done yet," Tony recited as he stepped into the cold confines of autopsy. "He's getting restless."

"Yes, I suppose that young Timothy's whereabouts and condition is concerning him," Ducky said, looking up from his work.

Tony went to stand by the table, shoving his hands into his pockets. He looked down at the ashen face of the young petty officer and sighed, heavily. "God, Ducky, when did everything get so out of control? I mean...it wasn't that long ago that Tim and I were upstairs, talking about the ring my father gave me and now...now he's missing...in trouble...and I can't find him."

Ducky paused in his examination of the body. "The FBI has their finest on this case I'm sure. And the sooner we find who killed Petty Officer Collins here, the sooner we'll get Timothy home, safely."

"You sound positive that's how it's going to go," Tony drawled, sadly. "What if we can't solve this? What if...we don't get Tim back?"

"Anthony, you tracked a Mossad operative for four months in Israel- a woman that was trained to disappear when need be," Ducky reminded him. "If you can find her then you certainly can find Timothy."

Tony looked away from Ducky and studied the markings on the young man's wrists. "He was bound?"

Ducky nodded his head. "Yes, with rope I believe. I found some fibers in the wounds and sent them to Abby."

"How did he die?"

"My guess-a hunting knife to his throat. Another mystery for Abby to solve."

"She's going to be busy."

"Good," Ducky said, firmly, "She needs to be busy to keep her mind off of Timothy."

Tony took his hands out his pockets and ran them over his face. Someone was going to have to call Delilah in the morning, and Tim's family. Not sure how Admiral McGee was going to take the news, the man was terminally ill and probably on his last few months of life. And then there was the question of  _who_ should make all those phone calls. Certainly not Gibbs in this state. He'd been barking orders left and right at the team all night. Vance? Fornell?  _Me?_

Ducky was trying to get his attention by clearing his throat. "I found something else that's interesting, Anthony. On his right arm." He held the corpse's arm up for the senior field agent to see. "It looks like he was injected with something."

_Just like Tim,_ Tony thought with a nod of his head. "Okay, thanks Ducky. Let me know when you have more?"

"Yes, yes of course, Anthony. Promise you'll do the same with me regarding Timothy?"

"You'll know as soon as I know."

Tony made his way swiftly out of autopsy. He thought about briefly going to pop in on Abby but he was sure she was stressed enough as it was. When she had something, she'd come to them. He took the stairs this time instead of the elevator to clear his mind. When he made it back to his desk he noticed that Ellie had passed out at hers.  _Damn._

He shook her shoulder, gently. "Ellie, wake up," he whispered. "Come on, before Gibbs catches you napping."

She groaned and lifted her head, rubbing the little sleep she had gotten from her eyes. "Sorry. I guess I should have eaten cookies or a candy bar instead of cheese-puffs." Shaking her head for good measure she opened her bottom drawer and found a package of  _Chips Ahoy!_

Tony watched as she opened it and offered him some. For the most part he had avoided eating sweets since the spring began, but tonight he found that he just didn't care. He snatched two cookies up into his hand and went back to his desk, munching on them. It might be the sugar he needed to jump start his engine and get moving on this case. He had the little things that Ducky had told him, like the possibility that Collins had been drugged just before his death. He pulled out his cell phone and quickly scrolled through to find Fornell's number. It seemed like something that should be reported.

The FBI agent answered after one ring. " _Got something for me, DiNutso?"_

"Yeah, think I might," Tony said, finishing his last cookie. "Ducky found a small injection point on our victim's arm."

" _McGee was injected with something after the abductor knocked him out, right?"_ Fornell questioned.

"Yep. Coincidence? I think not."

" _I agree. Was just about to call your boss, but since you rang me first-the Charger was found off the interstate heading out towards the Valley. Care to tag along?"_

Tony pulled his drawer open and grabbed his gun and badge. He shoved the weapon into its holster and got to his feet, pausing for just a second. "Gibbs might be angry you didn't call him first."

Fornell chuckled. " _Jethro is my friend, Tony, don't get me wrong, but you and I know that he doesn't have a cool head when it comes to one of you cowboys being in trouble. I'd rather have you watching my back at the moment. Gibbs will have to deal."_

"You're a brave soul, Tobias," Tony quipped before hanging up. He turned towards Ellie. "Tell Gibbs I went for coffee."

"Sure," Ellie said, not even aware that he was lying to her.

Tony was a bit startled for a moment. Ziva-she would have been questioning him from the moment he said he was leaving. Ellie-she just trusted him. Which, probably was going to end up getting her in trouble one of these days but for now, he was happy he could sneak off and not have to worry about his partner tattling on him.

* * *

Tobias watched as a navy blue Dodge Charger, identical to the one that had been found abandoned by Virginia State Police, pulled off the side of the road. Sky was just beginning to turn a tinge of pink with the on-coming sunrise and Tony looked like he'd been up since the last one when he emerged from his car.

"Found these in the backseat," Fornell said, holding up Tim's badge and credentials. "Didn't find his weapon."

"Abductor probably took it as an extra," Tony mused, peering inside the car.

Nothing looked out of place. There were no signs that anyone had been dragged into that back seat and taken against their will. Tony could feel his headache getting worse.  _Has to be the lack of sleep._

Fornell went to stand next to him. "Pulled some fibers off the seat as well. My guy thinks it might be rope."

"Rope? Rope was used to tie up Petty Officer Collins."

"What are the odds the rope is going to match?"

"I'm hoping for good ones," Tony said, softly as he straightened his form. "It would definitely link our cases."

Fornell nodded. "You fellas have any idea who could have done this? Who has a vendetta against you?"

Tony smirked, coldly. "Come on, Fornell. We've been down this block so many times before it seems.  _Everyone_ has a vendetta out against me or Gibbs. Personally, I think it's cowardly of them to be taking that vendetta out on Tim. He's the least abrasive one of us. What could he have possibly done to garner this?"

"Maybe you and Gibbs are finally starting to rub off on him," the FBI agent quipped.

"Doubt it. McGee is an Admiral's son through and through. Manners were always important," Tony pointed out.

"Agent Fornell," a voice called out. "We think we found something."

Tony and Fornell moved towards the agent holding out a stack of Polaroid pictures. Fornell began to flip through them and both agents were disheartened to see that they were of Tim-being stalked in the garage, lying unconscious on the garage floor, in the back seat of the Charger. But it was the last  _two_ photos that made Tony literally run and bend over the guard rail to throw up the cookies he'd devoured just an hour ago.

One was clearly of a bound and gagged Tim, his eyes open and groggy, a piece of paper with a message written on it taped to his chest,  _you'll never find him_ and the second was of him and Leah, eating lunch at some café two weeks ago that had  _you're next,_ scrolled on it in permanent marker.

_He knows. He knows about Leah! He's been stalking me! He_ has  _to know!_ His blood boiled with rage and fear and hatred. Tony felt his hands shake violently as he stood, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. This had already been personal when the bastard had taken Tim, but now, threatening everyone that he loved and cared for, well that made it  _really_ personal.

 


	9. Son for a Son

Tim felt like his head was floating, detached from his body. He'd been drugged, he knew that much, but he wasn't sure what he'd been given exactly.

Right now he was on the floor of a pick-up truck, bound around his wrists with rope, and bumping along what he presumed was a dirt road. He wondered when everything had gone wrong. He'd been on his way out to his car, getting ready to call Bishop that they had a case, when the lights went out.

He woke up in the back seat of the Charger, driving along a dark highway. Any attempts to communicate with the driver had been met with silence. Until they pulled over on the side of the road. Tim had honestly thought that he was done for at this point but the captor had just taken a photo of him and then dragged him out, towards the pick up they were driving in now. They had abandoned the Charger and Tim had been injected with something.

Because of the injection he went in and out of consciousness. Sometimes hearing Tony's voice like the senior field agent was right there, one time actually  _thinking_ that the senior field agent was right there, talking to him. "Don't worry, Probie," the hallucination of his friend had said, "I'm going to find you and get you of this mess."

Tim knew that it really wasn't Tony talking to him, just what his subconscious wanted to believe, but somehow he knew that the hallucination was right. Tony was going to get him out of this mess. Perhaps it was just the drugs talking.

* * *

Gibbs was about ready to implode when he found out that Tony had taken off and that Tobias had been the one to call the SFA. What gave the two of them the right to determine what he was apart of? He stormed into the bullpen when the FBI agent returned with his SFA, all ready to lash out at both of them until he saw the look on Tony's face. The younger agent was practically green and looked ready to vomit at the drop of a dime.

His anger quickly vanished. "What the hell's going on?" he asked in that gruff, kind of caring way. "You're green, DiNozzo."

Tony's only response was a grunt as he flopped, exhausted into his chair. Tobias eyed both agents cautiously before stepping forward, handing a series of photographs in an evidence bag to Gibbs. It didn't take Gibbs long to figure out what Tony had pieced together at the scene of the abandoned Charger. His team was being stalked.

"FBI sent a car over to Ms. Dawson's apartment," Tobias said, softly. "We're bringing her back here."

"What about her parents?" Gibbs asked, recalling that the honorable Judge John Dawson and his wife were in town.

"We'll offer accommodations for them here, but Tony and I don't think they're in danger," Tobias replied.

Gibbs looked at Tony for a moment, seeing the torrent of emotions in his green eyes. "What's your theory then?"

Tony barely lifted his head from his hands when he spoke. "This guy is out to the hurt the team. If he wants to get to me the way to go would be to threaten Leah. Not her parents."

His eyes didn't leave Tony's face, a thought popping into his head. "Has anyone thought to call Delilah?"

"Bishop was getting a SAT phone set up to call Dubai ASAP," Tony reported, softly.

"DiNozzo."

"Yeah boss?"

"Go down to the lab, get a few hours of sleep."

Tony shook his head. "Can't do that, boss. Work to do and we have to find Tim."

Gibbs nodded in agreement. "Yes. We have to find Tim but we can't do that if my team is exhausted. Go. Now, DiNozzo."

"What about Leah? Shouldn't I be here when she arrives?"

"Leah's going to tell you the same thing-go get some sleep!"

Tony sighed, heavily and pulled his tired body out of his chair and headed towards the elevator. He didn't look happy about being banished to the lab, but he was too tired to argue with the boss at the current time.

Gibbs made a mental note to call Abby and make sure that the senior field agent actually laid down and went to sleep. He couldn't afford to have his agents tired, not now, not when they had an agent in distress.

"Perhaps you should take your own advice," Tobias said, breaking the silence. "Won't be a couple of hours until we get test results on the car back. Might as well get some sleep yourself."

"Already did-while you stole my senior field agent away to go look at the car," Gibbs snapped.

Tobias grinned, cheeky. "Sorry. But Tony is a tad bit more level-headed than you in these situations."

Gibbs just glared at him as the elevator signaled its arrival. He glanced up to see two FBI agents escorting Leah out of the cab. The young woman was dressed in faded jeans, a pair of beat-up sneakers and an oversized heather gray sweater. Her hair was damp and she had done very little make-up. She also didn't look happy to have been woken up so early.

Leah tentatively glanced at the older men standing in the squad room. "What's going on? Why did the FBI come drag me out of bed at five in the morning?"

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary in the last few weeks?" Gibbs asked, cutting to the chase.

"You mean besides my mom's obsession with my love life?" Leah quipped, which caused Tobias to grin.

"Anyone hanging out around your apartment? Around Tony's?"

"Not that I noticed. Why? What's wrong?"

Gibbs sighed and gesture for her to follow him. His refusal to answer the question seemed to wake her up fully, and she glared at him as he began to walk away.

Leah wasn't about to be dragged around NCIS without a reason why. Not after the FBI had shown up at her door and insisted that she come here for her own safety. "Agent Gibbs, if you want me to cooperate with you I'm gonna need more than  _follow me._ I'm not one of your agents, you can't order me around."

"Agent McGee was abducted by someone that appears to have been stalking the team for some time now," Tobias answered for Gibbs.

"Stalking?" Leah repeated.

"We found photographs of Tony and McGee in the suspect's car," the FBI agent answered vaguely.

Leah wasn't stupid; she knew why she had been brought here. She glared slightly at him. "And you think that I'm in danger too?"

Tobias smiled, gently. "This is just a precaution, Ms. Dawson. But we'd like you to stay here at NCIS until we wrap this up."

"Fine by me," she said, with a wave of her hand as she finally followed Gibbs, "gets me out of having to spend the day with my mother."

* * *

Tony was in the midst of a deep slumber when he was shaken awake. Slowly, he opened his eyes and peered up into the shadowy face standing over him.

"I found something," Abby said, curtly. "Get up!"

"What? You found something?" Tony asked, jumping to his feet and fumbling about as he followed her. "What is it?"

Abby reached for her mouse and with a couple of clicks had displayed a photograph on her computer screen. "Remember when you had me run that grainy photograph of the security footage? You know, the guy snooping around your desk? Well, silly me, I just went to HR and got his photo for his personnel records. So, I ran that instead through AFIS. Didn't get any hits so I ran it against the DMV for Virginia, D.C and Maryland. Guess what? I got a hit!"

Tony stared at the photograph for a moment. It was a middle-aged man, in his late fifties Tony would surmise, with greying hair and brown eyes. He felt like he knew the man from somewhere but he just couldn't place him. Was it because he'd seen the man around while he was being stalked? If that was the case he wasn't as good of an agent as he thought, if he missed his stalker hiding out in plain sight. "Who is it?"

"Daryl Crowley."

"Crowley. Haven't heard that name in..."

"Five years."

"Five years? Really?"

Abby nodded her head and pulled up something else on her computer. It was a photograph of a marine. "Yep. Lieutenant Myles Crowley was killed five years ago."

Tony frowned looking at the face of the marine. It had been a much different face the day that Tony had first glimpsed at it. Back then he had been filled with rage, holding a nurse at knifepoint. Suddenly everything made sense-why Crowley was going after the team. It probably should have been a little bit more clear cut from the beginning but they'd all forgotten about the man's threats five years ago.

"Lieutenant Myles Crowley?" Bishop's voice asked coming into the lab. "He have something to do with our case?"

"More or less," Tony muttered, rubbing his temple. "Did you get in touch with Delilah?"

"Yes. She's getting on the next flight out of Dubai. So, who's this Crowley guy?"

"Marine that died five years ago."

Bishop looked between Tony and Abby, confused. "What does he have to do with our case?"

Abby switched back to the photograph of Daryl. "Because his father is the one that was snooping around Tony's desk the other night and is probably the one that kidnapped McGee."

"Five years ago, his son Myles was a patient at Walter Reid Hospital. He was undergoing psychiatric treatment for PTSD. Suffering from hallucinations that made him violent," Tony reported. "He got out of his restraints one day and locked himself in his room withe a doctor and two nurses. NCIS was called in for hostage negotiation. Gibbs managed to talk his way into the room but ...Myles held one of the nurses at knifepoint and Gibbs was forced to order the FBI sniper to kill him to save her."

"Daryl blames Gibbs then for his son's death," Bishop stated.

Tony nodded his head. "Even threatened Gibbs a few times right after it happened."

Bishop stared at the sullen face of a man that had lost his child, how his brown eyes bore so much pain. "Did anyone investigate further or keep tabs on Crowley?"

Tony shook his head. "No. Gibbs wrote it off as a grieving father. We never heard from Crowley after that. Not a peep. Guess we should have known—it's always the silent ones that you have to watch out for."

Abby chewed on her lower lip. "So why take McGee? Why not just come after Gibbs directly?"

"He wants Gibbs to suffer—just like he has," Bishop said, matter-of-factly. "Killing him would be too easy on Gibbs."

"Does that mean…none of us are safe?" Abby asked.

Tony glanced at her, his eyes filled with a thousand different emotions. "Yes and no."

Abby shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Eye for an eye," Bishop said.

When Abby still didn't comprehend, Tony whispered, "A son for a son."

Abby's eyes filled with tears. She grabbed a hold of Tony's arm in a death like grip. "You're going to get him back, right, Tony? I know your job is dangerous and I know that any day could be your last, but I can't take this anymore. It's been hard enough getting used to Ziva being gone! I don't think I can handle getting used to Timmy being gone too!"

Tony reached out and hugged her, tightly. "We're going to get him back, Abs. I promise."

 


	10. Mrs. McGee

"You're taking me with you to Crowley's house," Gibbs snapped at Fornell when Tony revealed the snooper's name.

"I don't think you're in any position to make any kind of demands on me, Jethro," Fornell warned him. "This is my operation."

Gibbs glowered at his friend and Tony took a step back instinctively. He'd seen his father, back in his younger days when he was drunk most of the time, look that way. Usually right before he struck Tony.

Fornell didn't seem as intimidated by Gibbs. "Don't you have a murder of a sailor to solve?"

"We're still waiting for Abby's results on the prints," Gibbs snarled. "Tobias...I'm coming with you. DiNozzo can run point here."

"I'd rather take Tony. He's been a bit more level-headed than you and I'd rather have him covering my ass," Fornell countered.

Gibbs looked about ready to explode and Tony stepped back even  _further._ It wasn't that he was afraid of Gibbs, no, usually he wasn't, but this man, this angry, testy mother bear that reared it's ugly head when his team was in trouble-yes that man frightened him, because that man was a loose cannon and who knew what the hell he was going to do. "Tobias..." the former marine started but was interrupted by Vance calling for his attention.

Leon stood, looking down into the squad room, a somber look on his face. "Gibbs...Mrs. McGee would like to speak to you in the conference room. She specifically asked for you, just so you know."

"Well, that settles it, Jethro," Fornell said, smiling at Tony. "Looks like DiNozzo is coming with me. Let's go, Tony."

"Boss..." Tony whispered as the FBI agent made his way to the elevator. "Listen..."

"Shut up, DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped. "I expect a full report when you get back."

Tony nodded his head and grabbed his gear. Taking a deep breath he followed Fornell and got into the elevator.

Fornell hit the button for the garage. "God your boss can be a bastard."

"You know, it's funny you say that," Tony replied.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because...he always tells us that's what the second 'B' in Gibbs stands for."

* * *

Gibbs wasn't surprised that Leah had turned the conference room table into a grading system for her term papers. When he entered the room she looked up at him and smiled, brightly. "See you've settled in," the team leader pointed out.

Leah shrugged. "Just trying to make the most of this situation, that's all. The agents' weren't happy that I made them drive me back to my apartment though. Not sure they like being my baby-sitter."

"They're gonna have to deal until this entire mess is sorted out," Gibbs replied.  _Not gonna let Crowley use you to get to Tony, either._

"Well, I think the barrage of questions my mom had for them when she called didn't help matters."

"You tell her not to worry."

"Oh yeah. Like that's going to work."

Gibbs chuckled and glanced down at the other end of the table. Another woman sat, dressed in a sharp blazer and matching slacks, bright colored scarf around her neck. Her brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her pale green eyes were watching Leah very closely. "Mrs. McGee," Gibbs said, getting her attention, "I'm Special Agent Gibbs. Director Vance said you wanted to speak to me."

Anita McGee snapped to attention and looked in Gibbs' direction. "Yes," she said, quietly. "The FBI agents that brought me here wouldn't tell me much. All I know is that my son is missing. Director Vance tells me that...people who are close to my son might be in danger as well. He was arranging transportation for my daughter to join me here. Agent Gibbs...what has Timothy gotten himself into."

He glanced at Leah for a moment who wasn't paying much attention, and sighed. "We think that your son was abducted as some kind of act of revenge. We have a suspect. The FBI and NCIS are working together to solve this case and bring Tim home quickly and safely."

"Forgive me, Agent Gibbs, for being so frank, but if you had done your job in the first place-my son wouldn't be in trouble."

"I understand that this is upsetting and believe me if we had seen the signs earlier we would have prevented it. Agent DiNozzo investigated a report of someone snooping around our desks. What we found was that this person used a false identity and murdered the man he stole it from, because we couldn't figure out the reasons why. It led no where."

"No where?" Anita snapped. "You just let it slide?"

Gibbs gritted his teeth. "Tony didn't want too but we had no jurisdiction in the case anymore. We handed it over to Metro."

Anita glared at him. "I don't know if you have children, Agent Gibbs, but just try to imagine for  _one_ second that this was your son, and how would you feel if you found out that his team just dropped a case of obvious alarm?"

Leah looked up then, noticing that Gibbs shoulders went stiff. She couldn't see his face but she had a feeling it reflected sadness and hurt and possibly anger. He raised his chin a little. "Mrs. McGee when we have more, you will be the first to know, I promise."

The lead agent swiftly exited the conference room and slammed the door shut. Anita didn't seem bothered by his reaction but Leah knew something more than just Tim being missing, was bothering Gibbs. She untangled herself from her chair and followed behind him. He was standing in the hall, eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"She's just worried about Tim," Leah said, softly. "I'm sure she didn't mean to sound so...ungrateful."

"No. She has every right to be angry at me, Leah. I didn't protect her son."

"Honestly, how could you have known this was coming?"

Gibbs snapped his blue eyes up to hers. "I  _should_ have seen it coming."

Leah shook her head. "You're not clairvoyant, Gibbs. No one could see this coming."

_Tony did. He saw it the moment that the janitor snooping around his desk was brought up. He fought me about sending that case to Metro, and I didn't listen,_ Gibbs silently lamented. He just prayed now that Tim didn't pay for his careless mistake.

* * *

Daryl Crowley's house was a small, quaint bungalow on a quiet street. Not the type of house one would think to find a sociopath, but then again, Tony realized, most sociopaths lived in houses like these.

It didn't take Tony long to pick the lock and him and Fornell were inside. The stark contrast to the pleasant-looking home on the outside to the sinister dark place on the inside was startling. Corkboards filled with photographs lined the walls, handwritten description of who and what was going on in the picture, notes so Crowley would be able to learn everything he could about them.

Tony had to swallow the bile in his throat when he came across a photograph of himself, dated two years ago as he came out of a pizza place that read,  _Agent DiNozzo enjoys D'Amico's Pizza every Wednesday night._

"Jesus," Fornell cursed, "This guy has been stalking you boys for years."

"Boys? Try team," Tony whispered as he gazed at the team working at a crime scene.

"Nah, I'm thinking his target was  _you_ and Tim. That's it."

"Why do you say that?"

Fornell gestured around the living room. "Look around you, DiNutso. These timelines and photographs are dedicated to you and Tim! Yes, the rest of the team appears in them but...he doesn't even mention Ziva David's name until six months before she left-the mention of her father dying in the newspaper. He was after you and Tim."

Tony nodded, recalling the conversation in the lab with Abby and Bishop. "Son for a son. Since he blames Gibbs for taking the life of his son, he thinks it's justified that he takes the life of Gibbs' son. Except, Gibbs doesn't have a son-not in the biological sense that is. But, even my dad told me once that Gibbs was more of a father to me than he was."

"Gonna call this in and get a CSI unit out here. Maybe Crowley held Tim here for a while," Fornell said, pulling out his cell phone.

He didn't even hear him, Tony's eyes were fixated on the last series of photos he'd found. Just from this past weekend. It was him and Leah going everywhere with her parents.  _Finally found the name of the girlfriend. Leah Dawson. DiNozzo's weakness?_

Tony felt sick to his stomach all over again. This man knew the team inside and out. He'd been stalking and observing and taking notes just for the very reason of bringing them down. He knew that hurting his team would hurt Gibbs, he knew that Tim had a fear of heights and he knew that Tony would do anything to protect Leah. Even if it meant giving his life for her.  _Well chew on that for a moment Daddy Dawson,_ he thought bitterly.  _How can a man who is willing to die for your daughter not be good enough?_

"CSI unit is on the way," Fornell reported. "You alright?" he asked when he saw the pale look on Tony's face.

"Fine. Bastard makes me sick," Tony whispered.

"Well, just don't be sick on our crime scene. It could contaminate it," the FBI agent said with a grin.

Tony threw him a glare. "I'll do my best not too."

Fornell continued to grin. "I can go get a bucket for you."

"Won't be necessary," Tony snarked, "I'll just go vomit in the FBI company car. Think the Hoover Building will cover the cleaning costs?"

"Damnit," Fornell snapped, his grin fading, "I knew we should have taken the NCIS car instead."

* * *

_Hey, Probie, can you hear me? C'mon, McGeek, wake up! I want to talk to you._

But he didn't want to talk to Tony. Tim groaned and rolled over on the hard, musty smelling mattress. Whatever drugs were pumping through his system had insisted on creating this hallucination of his friend, that insisted on talking to him. Slowly he opened his eyes to  _see_ Tony sitting on the mattress next to him."Go away, Tony."

"Aw, is that anyway to talk to your partner?" the vision asked, smiling his famous grin.

"Don't want to talk," Tim grumbled.

Tony frowned. "Why not? We could talk about the weather, the  _Nationals,_ oh! How about that engagement ring I showed you? I know you have lots of questions to ask about that. And don't deny it, because I do. I'm in your head-literally, remember?"

Tim pursed his lips together. Yeah. He did have a lot of questions to ask about that engagement ring. "How did you know?"

"How'd I know what?"

"How did you know that Leah was the one?"

"All those questions and  _this_ is what you ask? Okay. Just did. Feels natural with her and she makes me laugh."

Tim paused and thought about this. "That...that's what I saw about Delilah. Come on, I need more than this, Tony!"

Tony frowned. "Listen. I'm your hallucination, Probie. Don't like what your brain is cooking up for answers, hallucinate someone else. I know, maybe Gibbs will have better answers for you."

"Hardly. He's been married four times."

"But he got it right the first time. Not his fault that someone took it away from him."

_Huh. Never looked at it that way,_ Tim thought. Or perhaps he had since, like the vision had pointed out, Tony was nothing more than a figment of his imagination right now.

Something scraped along the floor and caught his attention. Tim looked up to see his captor dragging a tripod in place. Confused he watched as the man hit record, a red light flashing on the camera attached to the tri-pod.

Tim didn't scream the first time the cigarette lighter burned his skin. He was more surprised than anything. But with the second and then the third he howled in pain, suddenly realizing that  _Tony_ was gone. As the pain intensified, he cried out, desperately, "Tony! Come back! Don't leave me!"

But there wasn't any answer. Tony had abandoned him.

 


	11. Why Me?

Tony had come back when it was all over. He sat by Tim and didn't say a word.

Tim wanted him to say something not just sit there quietly. He hated it when Tony was quiet. Anything to make the hurt go away. Apparently his captor had some sick, twisted game going on and Tim was the major player. Actually, he wasn't sure what he was in this entire mess. The drugs kept him out of it for the most part. Perhaps it was the drugs that had him imagining all this. But then he looked at the burns on his hands and knew-no drugs had cooked up this. The drugs kept Tony silent too. Tim wanted a movie reference or a joke. He wanted to be away from this place. "Why did you go?"

"I didn't go, Tim," Tony replied. "I was there the whole time."

"So why didn't you stop him?"

"Do we have to go through this again, Tim? I'm not really here."

Tim felt tears pressing the backs of his eyes. He felt hurt and angry all at the same time. "It feels like you're here. You should be here! I don't know why he's doing this to me! I don't piss people off like you do!"

Tony looked at him sorrowfully. "Do you wish it was me, Tim? Do you wish it was me that he put that cigarette lighter to and burned the surface of my hands? That it was me he videotaped screaming for it to stop?"

"Yes," Tim ground out bitterly. "Yes, I wish it was you!"

"Because I deserve it?"

Deserve it? No one deserved this. But why him? Why not Gibbs or Tony? Who had more enemies than Tim could shake a stick at. This... it wasn't fair and he was angry. So very angry. "It just shouldn't be me," he grumbled angrily. "It  _should_ be you."

Tony didn't say anything in return. In fact, he went away again, leaving Tim alone.

* * *

"Fingerprint match came back on Petty Officer Collins' murder," Abby said. "They matched prints found in Tim's car."

"So, the guy who murdered Collins' took Tim," Bishop concluded. "Just like Tony and Gibbs' thought."

"Rope was the same brand as well," Abby reported. "It appears that Petty Officer Collins' murder was a smoke screen."

Bishop frowned at the screen on Abby's computer showing her the results of all the tests. She had come down here to get a break from looking over all the photographs that Daryl Crowley had taken of the team over the years. It was obvious now that Crowley was their guy; they just didn't know where to find him.

Tony suddenly stuck his head into the lab. He looked a bit more ragged than before he went over to Crowley's house, and after seeing what the SFA and Fornell had found at the house, she could understanding why. However, that had been at least five hours ago. The FBI was going over that evidence, not NCIS. "Bishop. Need you upstairs. NOW."

Abby furrowed her brow as Bishop shot Tony a confused look. "Is everything alright?" the probationary agent asked, concerned.

"Just need your opinion on something upstairs, that's all."

"Okay."

Bishop followed Tony into the elevator. Once they were inside and the doors were shut, he turned towards her. "Crowley sent us a little present. Gibbs wants you to watch it with us and analyze it." Tony shifted slightly and dropped his gaze to the floor. "Also...don't tell Abby."

"Why? What does Gibbs want me to look at?"

"Video. Of Tim being tortured. She's already very upset. This would only make it worse."

Bishop sighed and bit the inside of her cheek, nervously. She had watched torture videos before of course, but those had been of people that she really didn't have an emotional connection too, to get inside a terrorist's head to determine his next course of action. This was different. This was McGee. Her friend. "I'll see what I can do."

Tony looked up at her and his gaze softened. "If you think it's going to be too much, Ellie, I can send it to the FBI lab."

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I want to help Tim."

"Alright," he replied, letting her step off the elevator first.

Gibbs was waiting for them in the bullpen with Ducky and Fornell. When Tony and Bishop joined them, Gibbs pressed play on the tape, and almost immediately Bishop wanted to turn away. Crowley was using a cigarette lighter on Tim, burning the tops of his hands, and Tim was screaming out in pain-screaming for Tony not to leave him.

Bishop gritted her teeth until the whole thing was over, shaking as the lead agent paused the video. "Crowley said...he said this is what they did to...him. It...it could mean his son. I don't know the specifics of why his son was at Walter Reid for treatment of PTSD."

Ducky sighed. "Lieutenant Crowley was a Navy Seal. He was taken prisoner by insurgents and tortured. One method of torture was burning his skin with a cigarette lighter. It's quite possible that Daryl is using this same method of torture because he wants the team to feel as he did. Helpless."

"Well," Tony whispered, his voice shaky, "he's doing a pretty decent job of it."

"Bishop, what can you tell about  _where_ Tim is being held?"

"Looks like a cabin of some sort. Maybe up in the mountains. Did the Crowley's own a second home?"

Fornell pulled his cellphone out. "I'll have my agents look into that. We have to assume that at this point we're going to get more videos. Ducky, what other kinds of torture was Lieutenant Crowley put through?"

Ducky gazed between Gibbs and Tony before answering. "He was given a pretty powerful drug that induced hallucinations of people that were close to him. It...it could explain why Tim was calling out for Tony. Perhaps he has been drugged and believes that Tony is there. I also know that the terrorists broke Lieutenant Crowley's legs so he could not walk. He was also deprived of food and water. I would have to pull his medical records from Walter Reid to determine the rest."

Bishop dropped her voice so low that it was hard for the men to hear her when she said, "He's recreating what happened to his son-if we don't find Tim soon it's going to end the same way-with a bullet through his skull. He wants Gibbs to suffer  _exactly_ like he did."

Tony was really shaky now. His stomach groaned violently and before he knew it he'd sprinted out of the bullpen. He slammed his way into the men's room, and just made it to the toilet before he hurled up whatever he'd eaten for lunch. Even when he'd emptied the contents of hist stomach he still retched violently in a fit of dry heaves. It was far worse than getting sick on the side of the road after seeing those photographs of Tim and Leah.

After the awful spasms had passed, Tony fell backwards in the stall and pressed his back against the concrete. Tim thought he was there with him. He believed that Tony had just abandoned him when Crowley had started to hurt him.  _I should be there with him. I should be there_ instead _of him,_ Tony thought dropping his head into his knees.

He could only see Tim being burned. Screaming in pain. It made him want to punch something or vomit all over again. He just...he needed to do  _something_ and there was nothing that he could do.  _What am I going to tell Mrs. McGee?_ he thought, sadly. Gibbs had shoved that duty on him since their meeting hadn't gone too well that morning.

"Tony?" Leah's voice called out. "Are you in here?"

"Yeah," Tony replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He stood, flushed the toilet and then stepped out of the stall. "Hi," he whispered to her, seeing her for the first time since she'd been brought to NCIS. "What are you doing down here?"

"Well, Ellie just came upstairs and said that you were really upset," Leah responded.

Tony went to the sink and washed his hands, watching as Leah stood with her back pressed to the door. "It's been a rough day. And it's only going to get worse."

Leah tried to smile at him, sadly. "You're going to find Tim. Just think of how much information you've gathered in one day."

"Yeah? Are we going to find him before or after the bastard kills Tim?"

"Before."

"Wow, you sound so confident."

Slowly, she moved away from the wall and wrapped her arms around his waist, letting him wrap his arms around her and pull her close. She rested her cheek against his chest while he rubbed her back affectionately. "I just know you will."

Tony squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to believe her, and he wanted to just stay with her and forget everything. But he couldn't, because he had to find Tim. He let go of Leah and tried to straighten his shoulders. "Listen, I have to get back to work...and...um...I have to update Mrs. McGee...so...I'll bring you back up to the conference room." Before they left, he pulled her in for a sweet kiss, "Love you."

Leah smiled and whispered, "Love you more."

* * *

Ducky was not surprised to find Gibbs hiding away in the elevator. After a string of expletives hurled at Tobias Fornell that the FBI wasn't doing enough to find Timothy, Gibbs had stormed off. He needed a place to think and gather himself. The video of Tim being tortured had been troubling for all of them. It was probably best that he'd kept Abby out of that meeting.

"Jethro," he said, softly, as he stepped inside the elevator. "Are you all right?"

"No," Gibbs admitted. "I'm not."

Ducky sighed and shut the doors, hitting the emergency switch to prevent anyone from interrupting them. "Yes. I will admit that the video was disturbing."

Gibbs didn't look at him. "Ellie get DiNozzo out of the men's room?"

"She went and got Leah."

"And?"

"Tony is now updating Mrs. McGee on her son's case. Keeping the video out of it of course."

Gibbs nodded his head. "Of course. I know he'll be better at keeping her informed than I will. She probably isn't as mad at him. After all he was the one that felt something wasn't right, why Howard Applegate was found in the first place."

Ducky watched the emotions play out in Gibbs' eyes. While he was a man that pretty much kept to himself and held his emotions inside, right now it was obvious that the team leader was hurting. "Jethro, this isn't your fault. You have done everything you can to find Timothy and I'm sure that you and Tony will bring him home. You are doing your job. Just like you were doing it five years ago when you told the FBI to take the sniper shot. If you hadn't that nurse would be dead and maybe others."

"Feels like I went wrong somewhere along the way though," Gibbs lamented. "Just wish I knew where."

"You'll figure it out, Jethro."

"Yeah? Before or after that bastard murders McGee?"

Ducky shoved his hands into his pockets and heaved a tired sigh. "We just have to pray that you solve it before."

Gibbs ran a hand over his face. Prayers were not the only thing they needed. They needed a break in the case, a lead, something to help them find Tim. They needed a miracle.


	12. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I was on vacation last week :)

Tony managed to catch a few winks at his desk that night while they waited for word from the FBI but his dreams were infested with images of Tim being tortured and by five the next morning he gave up altogether on getting any sleep.

Pulling open his file cabinet, he found a clean pair of underwear and socks, and a fresh button down burgundy shirt. Grabbing his shaving kit from his desk, he trudged towards the men's locker room to take a shower. Thirty minutes later he felt cleaner but not refreshed. It might have something to do with the fact that he'd spent half the night arranging transport for Leah, Anita and Sarah McGee, and Delilah to a hotel for safe-keeping for the night-the other half he'd spent it sleeping in his desk chair.

On his way back to his desk, Tony glanced at his watch. The FBI was bringing the women back to NCIS at seven. That gave him plenty of time to slip out and have coffee and pastries waiting for them in the conference room.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs growled, eyes closed from his own desk chair, "thought I told you to go home."

"You didn't go home, boss," Tony snapped, grabbing his wallet, gun and badge.

"I'm waiting for Fornell to call me back to tell me where that bastard is," Gibbs said, opening his eyes and glaring at Tony.

Tony matched the team leader's intense glare. "Maybe I am too. You know...Crowley isn't just going after you. He's going after me as well and I want to get him just as badly as you do."

Gibbs glared even harder at Tony, but the senior field agent could see this look was different. There was definitive fear in the lead agent's eyes. "Crowley already hurt one of my agents, Tony, I'm not about to let you waltz out there and walk into his waiting arms. You let me and Tobias deal with this. Your job right now is to make sure Mrs. McGee and Sarah are kept up to date."

"So I'm regulated to baby-sitting duty, huh?" the SFA snarked. "Fantastic. Is that so you can keep an eye on me too?"

"Crowley can't get to you here."

"Bull. He got to McGee here."

Tony didn't give Gibbs time to respond. He briskly and angrily walked to the elevator. Again the horrid thoughts began to run through his head. If only they had pursued Howard's death further maybe, just maybe it would have led them to Daryl Crowley before he ever got his dirty hands on McGee.

Slapping the call button for the elevator, Tony rocked back on his heels, really wishing he could punch something. When the door opened to reveal John Dawson standing there, he almost laughed at the irony of it all. "Mister Dawson, what are you doing here, sir?"

"I'm looking for my daughter that you people and the FBI have kept hidden away for nearly twenty-four hours now," John stated, firmly. "My wife hasn't been able to rest since we lost contact with her."

"Leah is fine," Tony assured him. "She's at a hotel in the city with an FBI protection detail."

John glowered at him. "Why do I get a sneaky feeling that protection detail has something to do with you, Agent DiNozzo? You know, my daughter was living a perfectly safe, normal life until you came along. She's only been with you for five months and she's already been assaulted, shot at, and placed into protective custody-twice!"

Tony clenched his fists at his sides in an effort to stop himself from getting physically violent. "The worst injury she sustained in all of that was a sprained wrist.  _I_ took the bullet for her and right now the  _FBI_ thinks it's best that she's put into protective custody until this whole mess is cleaned up."

"You say you love my daughter-if you love her so much, you should let her go. Let her go back to her life not worrying about which whack job is going to take a shot at her next," John hissed. "I'll be back later today to pick her up. She's coming back to Boston with my wife and I."

"Sir, the FBI-"

"Screw the FBI! Make sure they know to have her ready to travel!"

Tony watched as the doors to the elevator shut in front of him and stood there, silent, frozen. This was certainly not the morning he wanted to have. It was probably only going to get worse when John Dawson came back later that day and tried to take Leah out of their custody. Tony could see that going over well with Gibbs. He let out an angry sigh and rubbed his hands over his face.  _If you love her so much, you should let her go._

But he didn't want to let her go. He wanted the exact opposite. He wanted to hold onto her forever, and right now there was no way he was going to be able to convince her father of this. John would laugh in his face when he asked for permission to propose to her. His heart ached just at the mere thought of being rejected like that.

He was so close to happiness and this man, this  _father_ stood in his way.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs' voice said, close to him. "Don't listen to him. You've done everything right to keep Leah safe. What's important is that Leah knows this."

"John's never going to accept me, boss," Tony whispered, turning to face him. "What if...what if I lose her because of it?"

Gibbs shook his head. "I don't think you're going to. Tony-this relationship, it's not a one way street like some of your other ones. This relationship goes both ways. She loves you and I think she's going to fight to keep you around like you've fought to keep her around. No one ever said that love was easy. Love is messy. Love is work. But if you're willing to deal with all that then...well...who's he to say you should give her up?"

Tony sighed and looked down at the floor. "I was hoping...I was hoping before she left...I'd be able to ask her...to marry me. Now...I'm thinking it's going to take  _a lot_ of work to get her father to even accept me let alone  _like_ me."

"Keep fighting," Gibbs said, sternly. "I didn't hire you because you were a quitter. I hired you because you were a fighter."

"Thought it was because I smiled?" Tony joked, chuckling as the elevator signaled another arrival.

"What the hell? Do you boys have telepathic powers now?" Tobias Fornell snapped. "You knew I was coming so you waited here?"

Gibbs glared at his friend. "Cut the crap, Tobias. Do you have something for us?"

Tobias nodded, gravely. "Yeah. A location for where Crowley is holding McGee."

* * *

Leah and Delilah arrived at NCIS in the midst of a frenzy. There were about a dozen or so agents, FBI and NCIS, standing in the bullpen. The Senior FBI agent that had been handling the case was standing in the middle, in front of a plasma screen, giving instructions. Both women noticed that all the agents were wearing vests and this made Leah's heart rate sky rocket. This had to mean they knew where Tim was and they were going to get him.

Tony caught her eye then. He was standing at his desk, finishing putting his vest on when he saw her. His eyes flickered towards Gibbs for a moment and the lead agent gave a slight nod of his head. Tony moved from around his desk and gently went to take her by the arm, leading her into the alcove.

"What's going on?" she stammered, her blue eyes filled with fear that griped his heart and tore it out. "Did they...did they find Tim?"

"Yes. FBI has an idea where Tim is being held," Tony replied, softly, pushing her hair back away from her face. "I'm going to be fine. That's why I have this," he said patting his bullet-proof vest.

Leah shook her head fiercely. "And what's going to protect your head? Because he could still shoot at that!"

Tony took her face into his hands and wiped at the tears threatening to fall. "Leah. Trust me."

"O-okay."

"Coffee's in the conference room. Why don't you go up there?"

Leah diverted her eyes and watched through the railings as the teams got ready to move out. She couldn't let go of the idea that this could be the last time she saw Tony. And it hurt. He suddenly pulled her into his arms and latched onto her tightly. She soaked in his scent, the feel of him, his warmth-before he let go and went to grab his weapon. With one last look at her as she moved to stand besides Delilah, he smiled, weakly.

And then he was gone. Hopefully to bring Tim home.

 


	13. Numb

He felt nothing. Not any of the pain or sadness. Tim was completely numb. Is this what happened to Ziva in Somalia? An absolute numbing of the body and brain to not feel anymore hurt? She had told Tony she had been ready to die. It seemed justified. Tim wondered how long it took for acceptance of death after the complete shut down.

"I'll never forgive you if you die on them, McGee," her voice drifted into his conscience. "Tony and Gibbs need you."

"I'm not like them, Kate," Tim whispered to the ghost of his dead partner.

Kate Todd glared at him, in that caring way she often did. "They don't want you to be like them, McGee! They never did! Tony and Gibbs saw something in you when we met you in Norfolk. They saw an eager, green agent that just needed the proper environment to spread his wings. Don't lie to me. Norfolk never would have provided you with that opportunity."

Tim swallowed, wishing for a drink of water to relieve his dry mouth. "I couldn't come see you for days, Kate. I was...I was too scared."

"I had a bullet through my skull," Kate replied, firmly. "I wasn't pretty. I was dead. I was the first person you cared about that died on the job and you didn't know how to handle that."

"So many nights that I wished you weren't dead."

"Do you wish that bullet had struck someone else?"

Tim looked at her, his mouth wide, staring into her unfaltering hazel eyes. "What? No...no I would never wish that! I wished it missed you altogether!"

Kate smiled, coldly. "If the bullet misses me it kills Tony. And perhaps you'd be having this conversation with him right now instead of me."

"He...Tony shouldn't have even been there," Tim snapped. "He had another week of medical leave. And he didn't take it."

"No he didn't. Instead he came back to annoy us, right?"

"Yes. And...and it was like he didn't trust us to do our jobs without him!"

Kate clicked her tongue. "And that's what bothers you, now, isn't it? To this day you think Tony doesn't trust you or depends on you?"

Tim scowled at her. Sure, since Ziva left Tony had been a lot nicer to him. He didn't need to be a jerk or goof off to impress anyone in the bullpen and if he was getting a little teasing it was nice. But there was something...it was nagging at him, eating away at his soul, another reason he was so numb. "Sometimes I think he wishes that it was me that had left and not Ziva."

"Ziva needed a clean break."

"Yeah. I've heard all that before. Save your breath."

"Since I'm dead, McGee, I really don't need to worry about my breathing."

He closed his eyes tightly. Maybe she would go away, like Tony had but Kate was persistent. It was one of the things he had admired about her. So, he wasn't surprised when he opened them that Kate was still sitting there, wearing the NCIS jacket and white pants she had been wearing the day she died. "I wish you hadn't died, Kate."

She didn't say anything to him for a long time. She sat there just looking at him, letting him get lost in his thoughts. Until, "I wish I wasn't dead either, McGee but you can't change it. Ari killed me before anyone spotted him and that made you super angry didn't it? That Gibbs and Tony, two men that you looked up to at the time as a father and a brother, had let me down-that I had died while they had been standing there, powerless to stop it."

Tim remembered hearing the shot, ducking behind his vehicle. He didn't realize the impact that single shot had until Tony had come back down the fire escape, covered in blood.  _Kate's blood._ "They were just standing there!"

"And they let me die."

"Yes! They...they were our superiors! They were supposed to protect you!"

"Just like they were supposed to protect you now?"

Tim growled in frustration. It had been at least two days since he'd been abducted and his team hadn't come for him yet. They had to have some idea where he was. Tony and Gibbs just couldn't be giving up on him like this, could they?

Kate brushed her hair back and stared at him again, this time that single bullet hole appearing in her forehead. "I'll never forgive you if you die on them, McGee."

He knew somehow that she spoke the truth and he became more numb, just wishing for acceptance of death to come so he could let go and be ridden of his pain.

* * *

 _No, no, no, no!_ Tony shouted inwardly as the entire cabin was found empty. Tim  _had_ to be here! He just had to! They needed to find him before it was too late.

His hands shook as he tore out of the cabin and back towards the sedan. So close! They had to have been so close! And yet, Tim was still out of their reach. There were no signs that anyone had been held captive there and when Crowley's father-in-law showed up, alerted by neighbors that the FBI was busting into his place, it became even more apparent that this was not where Tim was.

Edward Murphy hadn't seen or heard from Daryl Crowley since his daughter split with him three years ago. He was even more shocked when the FBI revealed that Daryl had abducted a federal agent and was torturing him.

Tony hadn't been able to stand by and listen while Gibbs and Tobias grilled him. His stomach was precariously close to releasing whatever contents was in it again and he didn't want the boss to see him so weak. Ripping the driver's door open on the sedan he'd ridden up to the Valley in with Bishop, he found the probationary agent on her laptop. Typical Ellie, when they were led to a dead end like this she was always going back and looking deeper.

But there was something different about this video she was playing. Tim was muttering about Kate, in between his cries of pain and agony as Crowley twisted his legs until they snapped.  _Bastard! I'm going to snap his neck with my bare hands when I catch up to him!_

 _"_ When did we get that?" Tony snapped, reaching for the laptop and turning it towards him violently to watch it.

"Thirty minutes ago," Ellie replied, biting down on her lip. She'd seen Gibbs angry like this but not Tony. "Ducky said that the terrorists broke both of his son's legs. Remember?"

He remembered all right. He also remembered that they'd whipped him until his back was completely raw, made him walk on those broken legs and beat him when he couldn't do it.  _God Tim, we have to get you back before...before they destroy you completely._ "Does Gibbs know about this yet?"

Ellie shook her head. "No. He's been too busy chewing out Tobias about this false lead."

Tony licked his lips. "Bishop, is there anyway you can trace where this email came from?"

"Sure. But that doesn't mean it will lead us to where Tim is being held. Crowley probably didn't send it from that location."

"He sent it to  _you_ for a reason. It's like...he wants you to analyze it."

"I can't tell you anything more than I did about the first one," Ellie sighed, sadly. "Just that he wants Gibbs to suffer."

Tony squeezed his eyes shut. "We're all suffering, Ellie."

Ellie closed the laptop and placed it back in her bag. "I need to get back to NCIS to track the IP address."

"Let's go," Tony said, eyes popping open. He slammed the door shut and started the car up.

"Um...what about Gibbs?"

"He didn't ride with us."

"Isn't he going to be angry if we just...leave?"

Tony clutched the steering wheel tightly as he aggressively drove the car away from the scene and back towards Washington. "You let me deal with his anger, Ellie. All I want you to worry about is tracking that email so I can go get the bastard."  _And bring my Probie home._

* * *

"Dad," Leah said, angrily as her father pulled her from her chair in the conference room, "You can't just waltz in here and take me."

"Like hell I can't," John snarled. "Your mother and I are going back to Boston where we feel you're safer. Let's go."

She pulled her arm out of his grasp and glared at him. She hadn't been surprised when he showed up at NCIS, hadn't been surprised when he had demanded to see her, but she had been surprised that he was demanding that she return to Boston with him. "Dad, I'm fine. Really. The FBI agents have been treating me well and I slept pretty good last night. Tony's been making sure that we all eat and that Mrs. McGee is kept up to date."

He wasn't backing down and she didn't really expect him to. "Leah, you realize that your life has been threatened far more than it ever was in the five short months that you've been with him?"

"Yes. I'm aware that my life has been a little more topsy-turvy," Leah snapped. "But what's so different about all those death threats that convicts wrote to you?" Her father's eyes went wide and she said, "That's right! We knew about them. We weren't stupid, Dad. I know you tried to hide them from us, but Gareth found a stack of them once."

"Those were hollow threats from delusional criminals that thought they were getting out of prison," John argued.

Leah shook her head. "Doesn't matter. You still took them seriously enough that you told the FBI about them. Gareth was in law school then, he had a few contacts and pulled some strings. You took them so seriously that you had the FBI trail us for weeks. So, has dating Tony  _really_ turned my life that upside down? At least Tony cares enough to let me know that my life could be in danger instead of hiding it from me."

John moved closer to her. "Do not try to compare the two situations. They are very, very different. I hid those letters from you and your siblings because I loved you and didn't want you to be afraid to walk down the street to go to school. I was protecting you!"

"And that's what Tony is doing too! Dad...you haven't even given him a chance!"

"I know plenty of his types, forty-something year old men who have not settled down yet. He doesn't love you."

Leah didn't respond. She didn't know what else to say. She knew that Tony loved her and that was all that mattered, but she didn't know how to make her father see that. When the conference room doors opened and both Ellie and Tony stepped inside, she felt her breath hitch.

Tony had a dark, troubled look in his eyes. "Mrs. McGee. I'm sorry...but Tim wasn't there. The FBI is looking into other possible locations in the Valley."

Anita who had been witness to the entire exchange between Leah and her father, glanced at the SFA, sadly. "What are the odds at this point, Agent DiNozzo, that my son is going to be brought back in one piece?"

"We are not giving up looking for him," Tony promised. "Agent Bishop is working on tracking an IP address that the suspect used to contact us. Hopefully in just a few short hours we'll have another location."

"They're a good group of agents, Anita," Delilah said from the corner of the room. "They caught the terrorist responsible for attacking the gala I was injured at. They're going to find the guy who took Tim."

"You'll keep us posted?" Sarah asked, sternly.

Tony nodded. "Of course." He looked once at John and Leah and then left, Ellie trailing behind him.

John waited for the door to close before he shot a look down the table at Delilah. "You were at the Conrad gala?"

Delilah nodded her head. "Yes. I had just entered the hotel when the drone hit. NCIS found the man who was responsible and arrested him. They're good, good people, Mr. Dawson. They've been there every step of the way through my recovery. Encouraging me that my life isn't over just because I can't use my legs. And Gibbs and Tony-they'd take a bullet for anyone. Just ask your daughter."

"What is she talking about?" John asked Leah. He knew that the couple had been shot at before, and just that morning Tony  _had_ mentioned he'd taken a bullet for her. John just hadn't known if that story was valid or not. Now, looking between Delilah and his daughter-it had to be the truth. "Did he take a bullet for you?"

"Tony shoved me out of the way and took  _two_  bullets in his shoulder for me," Leah answered softly. "Without hesitating."

John stood there, silent. Leah smiled, sadly at him, "Now does he remind you of those forty-something single men you know?" When he didn't answer her, she smiled a little brighter. "Yeah, that's what I thought, Daddy. You should go home. I'll call you when this is all over-promise. But I'm staying right here."

 


	14. Clear My Head

Tony gazed at himself in the restroom mirror. Back in November a similar face had gazed back at him. Tired and forlorn and not sure he could trust his gut anymore. He'd looked awful back then but today he looked, well, horrific.

Dark circles had appeared underneath his eyes, the lines on his face were more defined and he looked older than his forty-two years. It was funny, how worry and stress could change the appearance of a man. He should know really, hadn't he watched Gibbs' get grayer over the years?

Sighing he turned the water on cold and cupped his hands under the stream. He splashed some water on his face when he heard the door open.  _Leave it to Gibbs to find me here again, falling apart at the seams._ "Sorry, boss," he whispered shutting the water off and reaching for a paper towel. "Just needed to clear my head for a moment. I'll get back to work now."

"While I'm sure Agent Gibbs appreciates your dedication, I was hoping to have a word with you," John Dawson's voice said.

Tony glanced up to see the honorable judge standing next to him. He didn't look as angry as he did at their confrontation earlier that morning and according to Sarah McGee, the man had tried to drag Leah out of the conference room but she had refused to leave. Tony was a bit surprised he was still here though. "Haven't you dressed me down enough today?" he snapped, balling the paper towel up and tossing it effortlessly into the trash bin.

John shoved his hands into the pockets of his black trousers. "Yes. I would say I have." He studied the younger man for a moment, noticing the grim expression on his face. "When Leah told us that she had met someone and wanted us to meet him-I knew right away that she was serious about this relationship. She very rarely opens up about her personal life with her mother or I. And I suppose she has her reasons for doing so. Her mother and I, well , we haven't been necessarily supportive of her choices in the past."

"Hey, I know I'm not the dream guy that any dad wants for their daughter," Tony muttered, straightening his shoulders. "I know that I have commitment issues and that I carry a lot of baggage. I didn't expect you to like me right away."

"And I didn't give you a fair shot. I came here already deciding that I didn't like you. Do you know why?" John asked, rhetorically. "Because I didn't want to accept the fact that my baby has found the man to take the number one spot from me. I found any excuse to try to convince myself to hate you. Truth is, Anthony-I can't. You took two bullets for my daughter, what father can hate a man willing to do that?"

Tony wasn't sure what was going on here, but he simply said, "She didn't sign up to be shot at. I did. I was doing my job as a federal agent to protect her."

John smiled, slightly. "You were off duty."

"Never really off-duty," Tony mused. "I heard the shots, I reacted."

"Leah told us that you both were shot at," John recalled. "She never told us that  _she_ would have been the one to be shot if you hadn't pushed her out of the way."

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "She didn't want you worrying about her. She knew your wife wasn't going to be thrilled with her dating a cop-thinking it was dangerous and all, and perhaps your wife does have a point."

John had spent hours listening to Katherine worrying about Leah's safety since they had been told she was dating a federal agent. He shared some of those concerns but he had friends that worked for the FBI and Homeland Security, and they had wives and families. It wasn't fair to lay judgment down onto Tony because of his job and Leah had been right-Tony was not one of the criminals he saw in his courtroom. "It was unfair of us, Anthony. I hope once this whole thing is over we can perhaps...try to get off on the right foot."

"Can I ask why the sudden change of heart?"

"It's obvious that my daughter is in this for the long haul. I see the way she looks at you. We might as well  _try_ to have a cordial relationship."

Tony thought about that engagement ring, locked up in his desk. "I meant what I said-I love her. She's changed me, for the better, anyone that knows me will tell you that," he said, softly. He locked eyes with the judge, fully prepared to tell the man that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Leah, when the door swung open aggressively and Ellie popped in, unfazed by the two men.

Her brown eyes were wide with excitement. "We got something!" she exclaimed before disappearing.

"I...I have to get back to work," Tony stammered, brushing past the judge. "I'm...glad we had this chat."

"I am too," John replied.

Tony pushed the door open and stepped out, pausing though when the older man called after him. "I've given it some serious thought in the last few hours, Anthony, and whenever you work up the courage to ask me for her hand-I think I'll say yes."

_Well, that's a new development,_ Tony thought as he stepped back into the restroom and let the door shut. He turned and glanced at the smirking judge, "Sir?"

"I have four other children before Leah," John reminded him. "Three of them are married. You look just like my sons when they were getting ready to propose  _and_ like my son-in-law when he asked for my blessing to propose to my daughter, Lauren."

"And you'd...you'd be okay with it?" Tony asked, dumbfounded.

John chuckled, lowly. "Not really...she is my baby after all, but I think...Anthony...I can learn to like you."

Tony just stood there, shocked by this sudden change. He wasn't sure what had happened in that conference room while John had been there this morning, he was just glad it had swung the judge's opinion of him in his favor.

"Hey!" Ellie shouted, pushing the door open again, bumping into him, "What's taking so long?"

"Sorry," Tony snapped at her, turning about on his heel and following behind her. "I was busy!"

Ellie made a face at him while they walked. "Abby and I managed to trace the IP address on that email Crowley sent me earlier today."

Tony felt his heart rate pick up. "Where?"

"Coffee shop in downtown D.C," Abby replied. "Gibbs and Fornell were going to stake it out and put a GPS tracker on his car."

"Stake it out? That's going to take too long," Tony grumbled, frustrated. "What does Gibbs want us to do?"

"He told me that he wants us to stay put," Ellie said with a frown.

Tony glared at her, eyes turning so dark that she took a step back in fear. They were missing something. They  _had_ to be. And Tim was running out of precious time.  How could Gibbs order him to just sit here and do nothing? Didn't he understand that Tony wanted the bastard dead just as much as Gibbs did? He really wished that Gibbs didn't turn into a protective mother bear when one of them was in trouble. They were a team. They were in this together. It wasn't his job to fix it solely on his own.

Grabbing his gear, he stalked off, Ellie calling after him asking him where he was going. "To clear my head!" He shouted back before vanishing.  _I'm not sitting here while Tim suffers. I'm going to find him._

* * *

Tim couldn't remember the last time he was this thirsty. It had been hours and hours since his captor had let him have a drink of water, and he was starting to fill sick to his stomach.

"Kate?" he whispered, hoping that his deceased partner would answer him.

"Kate's dead, Probie," Tony's voice answered instead. "She isn't here."

TIm scowled. "Neither are you."

Tony smiled, confidently. His green eyes twinkled and he remained silent, sitting there looking at Tim. It made the younger man feel slightly uneasy. Or was that the lack of food and water? Tim wasn't sure anymore. The lines between fantasy and reality had blurred so much he couldn't be sure what world he was residing in at the current time.

"We're doing everything we can to find you," the senior field agent finally said. "Come on, Tim, don't give up."

"What if I want too? It's easy for you to tell me not to give up but you're not in pain or sick," Tim argued.

Tony's brow furrowed. "Do you think we're just going to let you die out here? You know Gibbs better than that! You know  _me_ better than that!"

Tim shook his head. "I don't know what to believe anymore. I'm talking to ghosts and people who aren't really here."

"Oh, we all do that at some point."

"Stop trying to make me feel better! You can't just leave things alone can you!"

"Not who I am, Probie, and you know it."

Tim heard the door to his personal hell creak open and he shut his eyes, drowning out Tony's voice, drowning out the captor's evil musing while he inflicted more pain and suffering on his victim.  _Sorry, Tony, I just want to give up._ And thankfully this time Tim quickly fell into a state of unconsciousness.

* * *

His apartment offered him a peace and quiet that Tony just couldn't find at NCIS. He hooked his phone up to the television and played the video of Tim being tortured relentlessly over and over again just praying to come up with a clue.

It was awful to watch the first time, let alone the fifteenth time but Tony had to stick it out if it led him to finding his partner. Something eventually caught his attention and he paused the tape, clicking on the remote to zoom in. There in the background on the wall was a painting, a pristine cabin by a beautiful lake at sunrise. However, that wasn't what caught his attention; it was the gold name plaque on the frame that caught his attention. It simple read  _Lake Laura._

Tony grabbed his laptop and rapidly did a search for property that the Crowleys', their family, and their friends owned near Lake Laura. It had been right in front of them the whole time, even more frustrating when he realized that the Crowley's had owned such a cabin and that the former Mrs. Crowley had gotten the cabin in the divorce, changing the title deed to her maiden name.  _Son of bitch, how did the FBI miss that!_ _  
_

Anger coursing through his veins, he yanked his cell phone from the cable hooked up to the television, sent one text to Leah, and grabbed his gear. He knew where Crowley was keeping McGee. And he'd be damned if he let his probie suffer another minute.

 


	15. Out of Reach

Tony drove faster than he had ever driven in his life, not caring if he was pulled over by a cop on the way. He would simply flash his credentials and warrants and tell the officer it was a matter of life or death.

He knew what Tim was going to go through next. He was going be forced to eat dish soap because the terrorists had wanted to wash Lieutenant Crowley's dirty western mouth. Tim would be forced to stand on his broken legs and be spit and laughed at when he couldn't do it and then there would come the intense round of drugs that the doctors at Walter Reid had given the Lieutenant. After that, one clean shot through the head to end his life.

Ellie had tried to call him when he'd been gone from NCIS for about three hours. Tony had ignored it, smiled slightly when she texted him and reminded him about Rule 3.

By now he was sure that Abby had traced the GPS tracker on his phone, and by now he was sure that Gibbs had been informed that he was off the grid. It was probably going to cost him his career. But he didn't care. All he cared about was bringing Tim home safe and sound before Crowley could extract his ultimate revenge.

He figured that Gibbs was right behind him. Which was another reason he pushed the car to its limits. He wanted to put as much space between him and the team leader as he could. If Gibbs caught up to him, he'd stop him and they didn't have time to have a pissing match on who was going to go after Tim. By the time they had it out Tim would be dead.

Gibbs benching him and Ellie was stupid. They were the best shot at finding Tim. Sure, Fornell and his boys were good, but they were better. They had to be. They didn't always have the resources that the FBI had available to them and he couldn't forget that it was the FBI that had missed the  _Lake Laura_ plaque when NCIS had handed over the video tapes to them. Maybe if the team hadn't been so protective of Abby's feelings they would have figured it out sooner.

_It doesn't matter now,_  Tony thought as he sped along the rural highway. He had figured it out. He was going after Tim. He'd deal with whatever consequences that Vance handed down to him later. Tim's life was more important than his job and apparently more important than anything else at the current time.  _Well, shouldn't it be that way? You know that Delilah, the McGees, and Leah are safe, and that Ellie isn't going to go rogue just yet...she's still too new,_ Tony thought.  _Your team is out of harm's way._ You _made sure of that._

Leah was probably going to be just as angry with him as Gibbs. She was much more level headed than he was. In fact she would probably say that she tended to over think things. Which was the whole reason he had not called her before heading out here. She would have found a sensible way to talk him down. His text,  _Just remember, no matter what happens, I love you,_ probably had not gone over too well once she had over-thought it and let it sink and come to the conclusion that he was gone.

All this after John Dawson had basically given him his blessing to marry his daughter. One step forward, three steps back.

Tony turned the Charger off the highway and headed deeper in to the rural surroundings. His cell phone rang and he glanced at it on the passenger seat. Leah's photo flashed across the screen and he let out a huff of air.  _Nice try, Abby, you know I'll listen to Leah._

So he didn't answer it. Instead he let it go to voicemail, racing towards what was probably going to be a violent confrontation.

* * *

Leah's heart sank when Tony's phone went to voicemail. He wasn't picking up. Which meant he knew exactly what he was doing. She tossed her phone down onto the desk and shook her head at Abby. "I only got his voicemail," she whispered.

Abby chewed on her fingernails, nervously. "I knew something like this was going to happen. He just...he just had that look in his eyes...the one that usually leads to him getting into trouble."

"Gibbs and Fornell can't be that far behind him," Delilah pointed out.

"We're not even sure where he's going yet," Abby said, shakily.

"Not anymore," Ellie said joining the group of women in the bullpen. "I think I have an idea. Judging from the latest GPS coordinates that Tony's cell phone gave us, I did a search of property that was owned by Crowley or anyone associated with him in the past. His ex-wife owns a cabin near Lake Laura. I gave the address to Gibbs."

Leah felt her stomach twist into a tight knot. She was worried and angry and she didn't know exactly how  _she_ was supposed to act in this situation. Tony hadn't done something this stupid since they had been together. And it was stupid, wasn't it, going off on his own without backup? But at the same time if his crazy plan worked and he managed to rescue Tim, wouldn't he be considered a hero? She didn't begrudge him what he was going through with Tim being held captive, but she didn't think it was necessarily heroic to go storming off on his own, leaving her here to worry about him...yet at the same time she completely admired his bravado. If he lived through this he was going to hear it from her, though.  _Probably Gibbs too._

She got to her feet and excused herself, just needing to get away from the buzz of the bullpen and find a quiet spot. She decided on a storage closet, locking herself inside and sitting down on the floor between a bucket and shelf. In the dark she managed to light up her phone and stared at Tony's last text message to her.  _Just remember, no matter what happens, I love you._

Was this supposed to make everything alright? Leah wiped at her eyes furiously, just realizing that she had started to cry. She knew that she could beg him to come back, beg him to reconsider, but she knew his resolve and he'd made up his mind. He was going to see this through to the end.

Leah could only sit by and pray that the end wasn't his death.

* * *

Gibbs heart rate was well into the danger zone as the sedan pushed further and further towards their destination. If he had known that his senior field agent was going to go off on his own and track Crowley, he wouldn't have gone along with the FBI's plan of letting their suspect get a head start. He would have gone after Crowley right away.

Now, as the car charged onward, Gibbs felt the walls tightening in around him. He'd ordered Tony and Ellie to stay at NCIS because he didn't want any more agents getting hurt to get to him. And of course Tony had defied that order. He should have known Tony was going to do something like this when he benched him. He just didn't think...hell he just hadn't thought period.  It had only made matters worse when Ellie had confirmed what Gibbs already feared-Tony had figured out where Crowley was holding McGee and he was going after his probie to rescue him.

"I thought you ordered them to stay put," Fornell snapped while Gibbs drove like a maniac to catch up to his wayward agent.

"Tobias, you of all people know how stubborn Tony is," Gibbs snapped back.

"Yeah...I know all too well! Bunch of cowboys!"

"Do you think I like this situation, Tobias? I don't! And believe me if Tony survives this I'm gonna give him hell!"

Fornell shook his head while he pushed the Charger to its fullest. "He's handing himself up to Crowley on a silver platter. This is exactly what the sick bastard wants-both Tim and Tony dead. And he's going to get just that!"

Gibbs closed his eyes tightly. It had been a long year and they were just getting back to "normal". Now, this madman was threatening to tear his family apart. He'd suffered the loss of his wife and daughter, of Kate, and Jenny, Mike Franks and Ziva-his father. How the hell was he going to survive losing both Tony and Tim? They were the closest thing he had to children now and it made him sick to his stomach that he could be burying them both.

"Look...you've taught the boy well," Fornell said, trying to ease the tension. "He knows what he's doing."

"Does he, Tobias? Going off on his own like this?"

"Makes sense to me. He didn't want to put his new probie in danger, his first one is already in trouble."

"So, he was protecting the team?"

"Yeah. Just like you would have done."

But the unanswered question remained-who was protecting Tony? As Gibbs drove furiously towards where everything was going to come to a head, he realized that there was no one protecting his senior field agent and that was the way Tony had wanted it.

* * *

Daryl Crowley was startled when he pulled up to his cabin and found a navy blue sedan in the driveway. Shutting his beat-up truck down, he grabbed the gun he'd taken off of Tim McGee and got out.

The front door had been pried opened so it allowed him a quiet entrance. In the back he could hear voices and from what he could see through the crack in the door he could not believe his luck. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo had come to rescue his partner and it appeared he had come alone.

Everything he had laid out was going according to plan. He could finish off Tim McGee and then watch gleefully as Anthony DiNozzo suffered the same fate.

 


	16. Final Act

It was a familiar scent that first roused Tim. Pain coursed through his entire body. The burns on his hands and arms from the lighter stung, and his legs throbbed. His stomach grumbled and groaned, yearning for food and water.

He had been forced to drink and eat soap the last time his captor had been here. It was awful and disgusting and he was sure he'd vomited at some point.  _The end has to be near, right?_ He thought miserably as a hand reached out and shook his shoulder gently, not violently like his captor when he wanted to wake him.

"Tim," a voice whispered, bringing the young man out of his dark slumber into his living nightmare. "Tim, wake up."

"Tony...I told you to go away," Tim muttered, angrily. "Leave me alone."

"Sorry, Probie. You know this isn't how it works," Tony said. There was the sound of a knife snapping open and Tim felt the ropes bounding him together being cut. "Tim, open your eyes."

Tim flat-out refused. "You can't make me."

Tony chuckled as he pulled the ropes away from his partner. "You're right, I can't."

"Why are you here?"

"Saving your ass McGeek."

Tim now ventured to open his eyes. Tony was squatting down next to him, wearing a gray zip-up hoodie and jeans, somber expression on his face. He had dark circles under his eyes and the fine lines on his face were far more defined than they ever had been. It wasn't the same Tony he was seeing and talking to for the last forty-eight hours. "T-Tony?"

Tony smiled, tiredly. "Yeah. Who were you expecting? The Ghost of Christmas Past?"

"Where's Gibbs?"

"Probably about ten minutes behind me. You know how he drives."

"Y-you came alone? That...that was...stupid."

The SFA shrugged his broad shoulders. "Gibbs thought he could bench me and Ellie and still find you. We didn't have a whole lot of time and I figured it out. And like I said, time just wasn't on our side. I couldn't wait for Gibbs."

Tim closed his eyes once more. It had been too good to be true that Tony had found him and was going to get him out of here. "You can go now, I'd much rather spend my last few hours talking to Kate's ghost than you."

"Do you think you can just make me disappear like that?" Tony asked, snapping his fingers.

"No. But eventually you go away. You always do. Kate stayed with me. She didn't leave. You  _left_ me here to  _die._ "

"Tim..."

"Don't  _Tim_ me!" Tim shouted, loudly, wishing that he had the strength to shove the SFA away from him. "Where were you! Where were you when  _I_ needed you! When Kate needed you! WHERE?"

Tony let out a short breath, resisting the urge to respond back in anger. This wasn't his partner talking. This was the drugs he'd been pumped with for nearly two days, making him believe that he was talking to a vision. "I was standing right next to her-like I'm standing right next to you now. C'mon, McGee, let me help you. I've got water in the car. We can get you to a hospital and they can start putting you through detox and then treat you. But you have to open your eyes!"

Tim slowly allowed them to open, seeing the hurt expression on Tony's face. "What...what are you going to do? Carry me out?"

"I've been going to the gym," Tony stated, drily.

"You'll throw your back out."

"Really? I think my back is the least of our concerns at the moment."

If he had more strength Tim probably would have rolled his eyes or something to show his annoyance. Instead, he sat there, watching as Tony worked on preparing him to move.

Tony tried to keep a carefree look on his face but it was his eyes that gave him away-they always did. He was...scared? Was that the right word? Tim couldn't ever recall a time that Tony was scared. Well, maybe when he got infected with the plague nine years ago, but that was different. Tony didn't know if he was going to live or die. As far as Tim could tell there wasn't a scratch on Tony, which led to the conclusion that Tony was scared for  _him._

"Alright, Probie," Tony whispered, "On the count of three I'm going to help you up. One...two..."

"TONY!" Tim shouted, just as Tony sensed danger as well. The SFA let go of Tim and threw his body about, knocking the syringe out of Crowley's hand. It went crashing to the floor and Tony kicked it away, reaching for his gun at the same time as Crowley brandished the SIG he had stolen off of McGee.

Steadily, Tony lined up his shot. "It's over, Daryl," he said, softly. "Put the gun down."

Daryl's eyes flickered towards Tim, laying against the wall completely helpless, unable to move. "Who should I shoot first Agent McGee? You or Agent DiNozzo? As much as I would like to put DiNozzo through all the pain and torment my son went through I think I would grow tired of his constant running of his mouth."

"Crowley," Tony said again, "lower your weapon."

"I'm sorry, Agent DiNozzo," Crowley replied, facing him once more. "I cannot do that."

The first shot that spit out of Crowley's gun startled both agents and hit Tony square in the abdomen. Tim struggled to come to the aid of his partner but his broken legs and weakened state prevented him from doing so. But all he could do was sit there and scream as the tiny room was filled with the sound of two weapons firing.

* * *

Gibbs heard the shots and felt his heart drop into his stomach.  _Please let that be fire from DiNozzo's weapon._ He tore through the dense forest towards the cabin where NCIS and the FBI had tracked Crowley.

Fornell signaled that they were to move in and Gibbs took off after him. The FBI agent kicked the door to the cabin in and shouted, "Federal agents!"

Even before Gibbs could say it, point it out to Fornell, they both saw it, the river of blood coming from the threshold to the bedroom door. Gibbs felt his entire body stiffen and he found himself praying, something he rarely did these days, actually something he rarely did ever.  _Please, not Tony, not McGee. Not the two best damn agents I've worked with, not the two men that are like sons to me!_  And even as this prayer entered his brain, a shadow fell across the bedroom door—both federal agents aimed their weapons, and subsequently lowered them when Tony stepped out.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted more in relief than anger. "You hit?"

"Wore a vest, boss," Tony admitted, unzipping his sweatshirt to reveal a dark blue bullet proof vest that read  _NCIS. "_ Bastard got me twice though, one in the side and the other the shoulder. Gonna leave bruises. Guess it's better than the alternative."

"Crowley?" Fornell asked, peering into the bedroom, which in fact was not a bedroom at all. Tim McGee was propped up against a wall, there was a dirty blanket and nothing else. Crowley was just inside the door, clean shot through his skull, contribute to the blood flow on the hard wood. Fornell recalled Gibbs telling him years ago that when his people shoot, they shoot to kill. The FBI agent couldn't say he blamed DiNozzo for taking the shot one bit. He shouldered his weapon. "Nice shooting kid."

Tony gave the FBI agent a lopsided grin. "Glad you showed up. I was afraid I was going to have to carry McGee to my car by myself. He's worried about my back."

Tim coughed from the other room. "You'll throw it out if you carry me," he said, hoarsely.

"I'll go call for a bus," Fornell said with a shake of his head and then he murmured as he left, "Cowboys."

Gibbs felt an overwhelming feeling of relief wash through him. He took his senior field agent by surprise then when he pulled Tony into a quick, but tight hug.

Tony looked at him, perplexed when he pulled away. "You okay boss?"

"Oh yeah," he breathed, stepping into the bedroom and enveloping Tim into the same kind of hug as he had Tony, "never better."

"How much trouble am I in?" the SFA asked, sheepishly.

Gibbs turned and scowled at him. "Lots. But you're going to have to answer to your girlfriend more than me."

Tony winced, whether it was from the gunshots or not Gibbs wouldn't be sure. "Yeah. Figured as much. Damn...just when I gained some brownie points with her dad."

Fornell stepped back into the room carrying a bottle of water. "Paramedics are on the way. Should be here in about ten minutes." He handed the water to Tim. "How you holding up, McGee?"

"Still not sure if you're all really here."

"Well, we are," Tony assured him. "Now go easy on that water, Tim."

Tim drank the water down slowly, just happy to finally have a drink. He closed his eyes and listened to the three agents standing near him argue over something or another. As he drifted off to sleep, the last thing he heard was Gibbs ordering Tony to go to the hospital with him. This time, he somehow knew, that when he woke he was going to find that Tony hadn't left his side after all.

 


	17. For You

Leah felt cold, numb as Ellie drove the car towards the naval hospital. When Gibbs had finally contacted them that they had caught up to Tony all he had offered up was that both Tony and Tim were being airlifted to the hospital. Automatically Abby had gone to the worst case scenario and given what she knew about the situation, Leah went with her.

FBI agents had transported Anita and Sarah and Delilah, but Leah felt more comfortable riding with Ellie. She was trying to be upbeat and optimistic that Tony and Tim were fine, and even though it wasn't believable, Leah was appreciative of it.

Once at the ER, Ducky met them, a grim look on his face. Leah felt her heart sink further and further into her stomach. She wanted to run and hide the closer she got to Ducky, drown away the awful thoughts that were running through her head.  _He's dead. Tony's gone, he has to be, why else would Ducky look so somber?_

"How is everyone?" Ellie asked the elderly medical examiner.

"Timothy has been admitted to the ICU. He has second degree burns on his arms and hands, two broken legs and has developed a staph infection," Ducky replied. "He was lucky when Anthony found him when he did." Ducky reached out then and took Leah's hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'm afraid that Jethro has worried you for no reason, my dear. Anthony was only airlifted with Timothy because he insisted on going with him."

Leah let out a breath she wasn't even aware she'd been holding. "Is it...is it alright if I see him?"

Ducky nodded his head and not letting go of her hand, led her to the elevator, where the trio of them rode it in silence. When they were deposited on the ICU floor they were met with a friendly nurse at the desk smiling and pointing them in the direction of the waiting room.

Gibbs was sitting with a cup of coffee and a newspaper in one hand, the fine lines of worry on his face starting to fade away now that his agents were both safe. Tony was curled up in a chair across from him, in limbo between sleep and consciousness. His eyes though, they were a magnet to her and found her immediately, even in his slumber like state he was well aware of her presence. As they made eye contact across the small space, Leah felt the control on her emotions slip.

Tony untangled his long limbs and stood, revealing the holes in his sweatshirt and now her vision blurred from her tears. His arms pulled her into a warm embrace, vanquishing the numbness that had consumed her from the moment he ignored her phone call. She closed her eyes, buried her face against his chest and took solace in its simple rise and fall with each breath he took. He wasn't gone. He was here and he was holding her and that was all that mattered in the end

She was still incredibly angry at him for taking off on his own, but right now, she would just thank God silently that his recklessness hadn't cost him his life.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered, breaking the intense silence. "I'm sorry I upset you."

"You more than upset me!" Leah gasped, pushing back to glare at him. "You terrified me!"

His green eyes searched hers, apologetically. "I didn't have time to explain myself."

She nodded her head. "Because you knew if you did, I would have stopped you and you wouldn't have gone. That's why you didn't answer the phone when Abby had me call."

"It was just easier that way."

"Easier for who? You? Did you even think about me and what would happen to me if that psychopath had killed you?"

"Yes," Tony whispered, simply. "I stopped to put a vest on-for you."

Leah sniffled and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "You what?" she inquired, confused slightly and driven by her intense emotions. "I don't understand."

Tony smiled, gently. "After you called and I so rudely ignored you...I pulled over on the side of the road and put on a vest. It took all of a minute really but...well...before you it would have been a minute too long. I would have recklessly gone in there without the vest and I would have died." He shoved his finger through the hole in his sweatshirt at his abdomen. "This. This would have killed me. I would have bled out. Instead I have a cracked rib and a very, very ugly bruise, but I'm alive."

Her anger melted away instantly and she lunged at him, forgetting about his cracked rib and bruises. He didn't seem to mind anyways, pulling her tightly to him and holding on for dear life. "Love you," she muttered through her tears.

He laughed, softly, kissing the top of her head. "Love you more."

* * *

Tim became aware of his surroundings, slowly. He opened his eyes and found Delilah sitting next to his bed side, just like he had done for her all those months ago when she had been injured in the bombing. She had come back all the way from Dubai to see him and his heart soared at this thought. "Hi."

Delilah smiled, warmly. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

"Been better," Tim muttered looking at his bandaged arms and hands. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Three days."

"Wow, that many?"

Delilah nodded. "Yes. You're pretty beat up, Tim. But don't worry. You'll be out of here once you beat this staph infection. You're lucky Tony went all cowboy on us and found you in time."

Tim winced. "Tell me Gibbs or Vance didn't kill him?"

"He was formally reprimanded and it was put in his file, but he's still an agent if that's what you're worried about."

"Leah must have wanted to throttle him."

Delilah chuckled. "I think she's starting to learn that reckless and Tony go hand in hand. Although, it was her that made him stop and put a vest on before going to get you. If he hadn't, well...he'd be dead right now and chances are so wouldn't you. Gibbs and Fornell might not have gotten there in time."

Tim swallowed, nervously. "Tony wouldn't have put a vest on in the past. He would have thought that time was of the essence. Leah...she's changed him in so many ways, Delilah, you have no idea. Is she...is she still mad at him?"

"She'll get over it," Tony said, appearing in the door, clad in a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. "Ms. Fielding, your ride is here."

"Ride?" Tim spat. "Are you leaving already?"

"No," Delilah said, reaching out and grabbing a hold of his hand. "I'm not. I'm going to the D.O.D to talk about transferring back to the States so I can be with you while you recover."

Tim shook his head. "But Dubai, it was your dream job."

Delilah glared at him slightly. "Tim. You're more important," she said before wheeling herself out of the room.

"When are you going to smarten up and propose to her?" Tony asked when she was gone. He plopped down in a chair by Tim's bed. "You've been thinking about it. I know you have because you've been a little too helpful in helping me with my dad's wedding."

"After all this-yeah, I'm going to do it," Tim said, grinning slightly. "Will you go help me pick out a ring?"

Tony reached over and grasped his shoulder. "Tim, as soon as you're feeling better, we're going to go out and find the best damn ring there is."

* * *

Ducky let himself into Gibbs' house that warm, sunny morning. After the last week the medical examiner was happy to see that the team leader had taken his own advice and taken some days off. Losing his father at the beginning of the month had been heart-wrenching for Gibbs and coming so very close to losing both Tony and Tim had to have done a number on him emotionally.

"'Morning, Duck," Gibbs greeted him when he stepped into the dining room. "Everything alright?"

"Yes, yes, everything is fine now thanks to Anthony," Ducky said, taking a seat.

"He figured it out before any of us. Shouldn't be surprised."

"No. But you were surprised he wore a vest."

Gibbs put his paper down and took a sip of his coffee. "Yes. He somehow had a moment of clarity in that impulsive brain of his and I thank God for that."

Ducky chuckled. "Leah has changed the boy dare I say for the better. Which, is another reason why I'm here. There are quite a few rumors around NCIS that Anthony is going to pop the big question. Any truth to that?"

"Saw the ring myself, Duck," Gibbs said with a smile.

"Oh my. Our boy  _is_  growing up."

"Yeah. About time."

Ducky couldn't agree more. They had both been there when Wendy walked away from him, causing Tony so much pain that he didn't think he was worthy of love. He had shied away from commitment for so long, even his father had been surprised by the lack of intimacy that Tony showed in his own apartment. "Something tells me, Jethro, this is what Ziva wanted when she walked away from us," he supplied.

Gibbs sighed and took another sip of his coffee. "She called me that night Tony left Israel. She hated what she had become and needed to separate herself from us. She thought she was poison to us and she hated how she had hurt him. But..it had to be done in her eyes. She saw a future for him-not with her-but could see he was capable of being loved and in love. Fire and ice. That's what she referred to them as. And...they were. I can't help but wonder if she hadn't left what would have happened to the two of them. I'd like to think she'd be happy with the changes Tony's gone through and be happy for him."

"Has anyone tried to call her?" Ducky offered.

"Abby has a couple of times. She doesn't answer," Gibbs replied. "When she's ready, Duck. She'll reach out to us."

"Yes well, in the meantime," Ducky said, putting a bottle of Scotch on the table. "It's never to early to celebrate an engagement."

"Tony hasn't proposed yet, Ducky."

"So? After this week I think we both deserve this drink, don't you?"

Gibbs smiled and nodded, "Amen to that, Ducky."

 


	18. Life

The sun was hot on his back while they strolled down the beach. Tony had his shoes, socks neatly tucked inside, in one hand, and was clutching tightly to Leah's with the other. He had rolled his jeans up slightly so they wouldn't get wet, but Mother Nature, like always had other plans. The waves crashing at his feet while he walked, soaking his pants through on the bottom, didn't bother him nearly as much as he thought it would.

Probably because he was holding Leah's hand, which was soft and delicate, and if he were going to use a romantic cliché, he'd say it fit into his perfectly. They had spent the afternoon by eating ice cream and fried dough—a healthy lunch Leah insisted. She had challenged him to some kind of race game where you used a water gun to propel a hot air balloon to the top. Naturally he had won of course, and of course he had given her the teddy bear prize, which was now tucked underneath her arm. She'd made him promise though to take her to the firing range and teach her how to shoot. He had to admit the idea of standing behind her and fixing her stance excited him a little bit.

Now, as the sun began to descend they were enjoying the peaceful serenity that the ocean had to offer. It had been a long time since he had felt this relaxed. Two weeks had come and gone since their nightmare of Tim's abduction had come to a close. Tim was now home, resting comfortable with Delilah, his mom and Abby taking care of him. Leah's parents had gone back to Boston, but not before Tony had worked up the courage to take John out for a drink and ask properly for her hand.

Tony pulled on her hand slightly and directed her away from the water. He found a spot nestled in the sand dunes facing the ocean and sat down, pulling her towards him and wrapping her in his arms. "Do you really have to leave tomorrow?" he whispered in her ear.

"It will go by super fast. I promise," Leah said, smiling up at him. "Especially if you write to me."

"Writing to you and having you here, in my arms, are two different things," Tony lamented.

"We'll be okay, Tony," she said, with a reassuring smile and pat on his cheek.

Tony sighed and reached for the backpack he'd brought with their dinner of sandwiches in it. "Well, if you insist on leaving me for three months, there's something I wanted to give you-call it some things for the plane, alright?"

Leah smiled at him and nodded her head. "Alright," she said, reaching into the backpack. She pulled out a stack of magazines, some gum and boxes of candy. "Aw...all my favorites."

"Don't tell anyone I didn't take care of you."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"There's more, you know. Figured there were some things you were going to need in Egypt."

She pulled out a bottle of suntan lotion, a Nationals baseball cap, and a traveler's guide to Cairo. "This is sweet," she said, pressing her lips to his in a tender embrace, "Thank you."

He kissed her back and smiled. "You missed something."

"I did?" she inquired, reaching into the bag. Her fingers found a piece of twine. "String? What's that for?" she asked and she started to pull it out, confused, until she had pulled the twine out completely and discovered what was tied at the end of it. Her heart must have stopped for several seconds and she just sat there, staring at it. "Tony..."

"Something to tie you to me forever," Tony whispered, eyes searching hers. "Leah, I love you. I want us to be together for the rest of my life. Make this awful separation we're going to go through tomorrow a tad less terrible. Will you marry me?"

Leah let her fingers brush against the ring, it sparkled in the sunlight, enhancing its timeless beauty. She turned towards him, tears filling her eyes. "Yes," she said, smiling. "Yes...I'll marry you."

Tony brought his mouth down to hers, hungrily kissing her. Pulling away he took the engagement ring off the twine and slipped it on her finger. He threw a beaming smile at her, heart bursting with...well, sheer happiness. "Oh bella, I love you, so, so much."

"I know," she whispered, cupping his face between her hands. "I love you so, so much too," she said before kissing him again. She pulled back, smiling. "My mom is going to want to know when to expect a wedding."

"Well...I was thinking...can we pull it off by Columbus Day?"

"You...you want to get married that soon?"

Tony stroked his thumb across her cheek. "Yes," he said, softly, "Before...before all this happened I thought about a longer engagement but...Leah...almost losing my partner two weeks ago...it opened my eyes. Life's too short and I want to spend the rest of that life married to you."

Leah smiled at him, her entire face aglow with happiness. She pressed her lips to his in a lingering kiss and whispered, "An October wedding sounds perfect."

* * *

Gibbs was not surprised to find Tony sitting on his porch the next day. After all, the SFA had dropped Leah off at the airport that morning and thus began the three month separation that Tony was dreading. "Everything go okay with Leah?" the lead agent asked, stepping up to the porch.

Tony raised his eyes and a lopsided grin adorned his face. Gibbs was slightly confused by the happy glint in his green irises. For a man that was going to be apart from he woman he loved for three months, he certainly was not playing the part. "She said yes," Tony finally supplied the confused older man. "She said she'd marry me."

"Well, that would explain the happy smile," Gibbs said, grinning as he sat down on the steps next to Tony. He reached out and placed his hand on his SFA's shoulder. "This calls for a drink."

"I'd love a beer, boss," Tony quipped with a smile.

Gibbs shook his head. "Beer doesn't fit the occasion, Tony. Come on, my dad gave me a bottle of bourbon once to open when Kelly got engaged. Said he did the same when I asked Shannon to be my wife. I don't think he'd be upset if I opened it to celebrate my  _son_  finally finding the woman that makes him truly happy."

Tony grinned, the one that so often reminded Gibbs of the little boy at times that resided inside. "Sounds good to me. But first...let's give Tim a call-this isn't just our moment, boss. I want to celebrate this with my brother too."

Gibbs nodded and gave Tony's shoulder a squeeze. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Anthony."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the final chapter in the fifth story of this series. I still have a lot more to transfer over from FF.net. Hope you are enjoying them for the first time or if you've already read them, enjoying them all over again!


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